mepresley's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Joshua Wolf Shenk presents a narrowly focused and well-researched study of Lincoln's melancholy, contextualizing Lincoln's bouts with what we would call chronic depression within the 19th century landscape of views on melancholy as well as the changing landscape of views on mental health/ mental illness in the 20th and 21st centuries. Shenk also spends a significant amount of time examining 19th century religion and its intersection with Lincoln's philosophy and mental health and 19th century conceptions of the self-made man. Shenk not only draws on first-hand accounts of Lincoln and Lincoln's own words in letters and speeches, but also on later psychological studies of depression and adaptation. Shenk also contextualizes his work within the larger body of Lincoln scholarship, explaining how for years Lincoln's melancholy essentially disappeared from the landscape of historical study.
The introduction gives a very rough sketch of scholarship re: Lincoln's melancholy, namely that it was a focus through the early 20th century, when it fell out of vogue, particularly with J.G. Randall, the leading Lincoln scholar in the 1940s. It wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that renewed interest emerged in Lincoln's mental health. These concepts are discussed at much greater length in the Afterword,
"'What Everybody Knows': A Historiography of Lincoln's Melancholy."
Shenk's book, then, not only re-examines Lincoln's melancholy, making a case for the fact that Lincoln was, by our modern definition, mentally ill, but also by our modern definition very mentally healthy--that his struggles, as per the title of Shenk's book, fueled his greatness, but it also provides a thoughtful criticism of the pitfalls of biographical scholarship:
The introduction gives a very rough sketch of scholarship re: Lincoln's melancholy, namely that it was a focus through the early 20th century, when it fell out of vogue, particularly with J.G. Randall, the leading Lincoln scholar in the 1940s. It wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that renewed interest emerged in Lincoln's mental health. These concepts are discussed at much greater length in the Afterword,
"'What Everybody Knows': A Historiography of Lincoln's Melancholy."
Shenk's book, then, not only re-examines Lincoln's melancholy, making a case for the fact that Lincoln was, by our modern definition, mentally ill, but also by our modern definition very mentally healthy--that his struggles, as per the title of Shenk's book, fueled his greatness, but it also provides a thoughtful criticism of the pitfalls of biographical scholarship:
As the writer and physician Oliver Sacks has noted, 'To restore the human subject at the centre--the suffering, afflicted, fighting, human subject--we must deepen a case history to a narrative or a tale; only then do we have a 'who' as well as a 'what,' a real person, a patient, in relation to disease.'....The former tries to eliminate questions with facts, whereas the latter draws on facts to articulate the essential questions of a person's life.
Can we say that Lincoln was 'mentally ill'? Without question, he meets the US Surgeon General's definition of mental illness....Yet Lincoln also meets the Surgeon General's criteria for mental health: 'the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.' By that standard, few historical figures led such a healthy life" (24-5).
"Many popular philosophies propose that suffering can be beaten simply, quickly, and clearly. Popular biography often expresses the same view.... 'Biographies tend conventionally to be structures as crisis-and-recovery narratives,' writes Louis Menand, 'in which the subject undergoes a period of disillusionment or adversity, and then has a 'breakthrough' or arrives as a 'turning point' before going on to achieve whatever sort of greatness obtains.' Lincoln's melancholy doesn't lend itself to such a narrative....This is not a story of transformation but one of integration" (156).
As Shenk points out, "Paradoxically, his [Lincoln's] expressions of pain also conveyed how much pain he could tolerate while continuing to function" (179).
Shenk's book is divided into three parts:
"Part One investigates how Lincoln's melancholy manifested itself in his early life and young manhood and how it fits--and challenges--the diagnostic categories of modern psychiatry.... Part Two shows what Lincoln did in response to his melancholy, the strategies he used to heal and help himself....Part Three addresses how Lincoln's melancholy became intertwined with his mature character, ideas, and actions" (8).
It does perhaps its most important work in examining the misconception of Lincoln's two major depressive episodes, in 1835 and 1841, which have been characterized without any evidence as reactions to the death of Ann Rutledge and the breakup of an engagement to Mary Todd Lincoln, respectively. In terms of the latter depression particularly, Shenk offers six potential factors, only one of which has to do with the future Mary Todd Lincoln.
I was also especially struck by the idea, backed by a 1979 study, of "depressive realism." I was incredibly interested in what Shenk had to say about the way modern psychology pathologizes all pessimism and melancholy. Shenk points to the ways in which our modern culture has normalized optimism and depicted it as a cornerstone of mental health, despite the fact that optimism often conflicts with reality, and ability to perceive reality is also a criteria for mental health. Yes, depression can be awful and even deadly, but it isn't necessarily a sign that your views of the world are a matter of incorrect perception. The fact that pessimism has its benefits has grown increasingly out of vogue with our cultural norms where "some cognitive styles are held to be superior and others inferior; one emotion, (joy) is 'positive' and all others (sadness, fear, anger, and shame) are 'negative'" (135).
"But research shows that, by this definition [accurate perception of reality], happiness itself could be considered a mental disorder....The psychologist Richard Bentall has taken this research to its extreme conclusion, humorously proposing to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder--'major affective disorder (pleasant type)'" (135).
Lincoln has been a special interest of mine since I was a child, and I have read many works on Lincoln. This one definitely added to the landscape of Lincoln scholarship, and it brought me to tears a couple of times. I'd like to end my review by providing a couple of the passages that struck me deeply:
"He [Lincoln] concluded his speech by citing an old parable, of an Eastern monarch who charged his wise men to invent a sentence that would apply to al times and in all situations. The wise men returned with 'And this too shall pass away.'
Lincoln lingered over the line. 'How much it expresses!' he exclaimed. 'How chastening in the house or pride!--how consoling in the depths of affliction! And this, too, shall pass away" (157-8).
"Speed...die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow" (203).
stolencapybara's review against another edition
3.0
Far from perfect, but a compelling perspective on both Lincoln and depression.
brennenpeterson's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty interesting book. Gives a shortened look at Lincoln’s life like it’s a standard biography but with the added context of how depression can affect people even has important as Lincoln.
transitionaljoint's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
4.0
Shenk packs a lot into this biography of President Lincoln's melancholy. In this book, we get a sketch of a biography of Lincoln, a lot of information on melancholy and/or depression, and a bit of analysis of the history of Lincoln biographies. My favorite quote in the book is, "history is not what happened in the past, but the best story we can tell from the available material."
I think I liked the insight into trends into what history is and how it is told better than the story of Lincoln's depression, although that was interesting, too. I don't recommend this for a first read on Lincoln, but a good third or fourth book to read on him.
I think I liked the insight into trends into what history is and how it is told better than the story of Lincoln's depression, although that was interesting, too. I don't recommend this for a first read on Lincoln, but a good third or fourth book to read on him.
jennyrpotter's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent account of Lincoln's life from a perspective I had not previously known. This was the perfect blend of history and psychology, and it greatly increased my appreciation for such an amazing President.
hpuphd's review against another edition
5.0
The best book I’ve read in a long time. The author consulted books about Lincoln for six years in preparation for this 2005 study, the first-ever (he says) about Lincoln’s temperament. It changed the way I regard a melancholy cast of mind (unlike our age, the 19th century didn’t view it as something to be cured of) and also the way I view Lincoln. Sharp insights and forceful writing turn up everywhere. Shenk uses a great analogy, which I didn’t mark in the book, that is very telling, something like: “As insulin helps diabetics manage but not cure their disease, Lincoln developed coping mechanisms for his melancholy.” These were a love of humor and storytelling and a love of poetry and literature. The wisdom Lincoln gleaned from his burdensome personality helped him in his final years. A smart, admirable, excellent book.