I was only able to recover from an abrupt, mid-life fall into depression after learning the origin of my illness, which turned out to be rooted in childhood trauma resulting from an alcoholic parent. Understanding the cause of my illness relieved my sense of guilt and weakness; it wasn't my fault after all. I then decided to write a book to share the lessons I learned with the many others who have difficulty understanding these complex illnesses. There is a great deal of vital new information about depression, but it is not well known or understood.