Customer Reviews
One long metaphor - By: Little Butterfly, 12 Apr 2008 
I read this book hoping it would be just as the title described it "a cheerful book about depression".
Personallly, I didnt find it that cheerful & it read like one long poetic metaphor.
As an autobiography into a depressed poets life, I found it very interesting & some of the symptoms described I could defintily relate to.
But if you are looking for a self-help book this is not it, there are far too many long & complex quotes for a depressed mind to read.
An o.k read just a bit too much of the same information throughout.
not just an ad for a tortured artist - By: dragonfly, 07 Feb 2008 
i ordered this book after reading a recommendation in psychologies magazine from psychologist dorothy rowe- i've just ordered my 3rd copy, the other 2 have been passed on to my counsellor, & a close friend & fellow sufferer. i've also recommended it to both my pychiatrist & a friend who works in a mental healthsupport team.
i know that not everyone has the luxury of gwyneths life style, but surely it's good to remember that depression can strike anyone at any time, & to learn to recognise your own cycle & triggers- whatever they may be. i believe that recovery is led by yourself, & that's what helped me about this book
this depressive isn't smilling - By: butterfly, 03 Jan 2008 
This book caught my eye while I was out & I thought it would help where nothing else has. I was wrong.
Gwyneth Lewis did mention some aspects of her experience of depression I could relate to but I found the way the book was written very hard to read. In my state I couldn't deal with anything which wasn't simply spelt out, so found the metaphors sometimes hard to follow.
The do's & don'ts at the end were the most useful bit.
The number of people who have found this book helpful seem to be split down the middle. It would be useful for anyone looking to buy this book to keep that in mind.
Flaky - By: happyreviewer, 02 Jan 2008 
This is a difficult book to like, but it would be churlish of me to pretend that there weren't some real insights tucked away in its pages. However, primarily, I think, this isn't a book about depression; it's a book about a poet's experiences of depression. Lewis doesn't let you forget that she's a poet -- or Welsh -- for even one paragraph. Consequently the whole book reads almost like one long poem, or metaphor. When you're depressed, the last thing you want is to be struggling with vague metaphors that perhaps mean this or perhaps that or perhaps nothing, you want someone to talk straight. If you want straight-talking, you'll be sadly disappointed with this offering. Dare I say it, but sometimes this book sounds a little sententious & flaky -- think energy, crystals, cosmic ordering, astrology, "losing yourself" & "finding yourself" -- though in Lewis's mitigation this is usuallly when she's quoting from other poets & philosophers.
To her credit Lewis does acknowledge the depressive's compromised attention span by breaking the text into page-long snippets, so you can pick up & put down as you fancy. I liked that idea. To summarise, Lewis is saying that depression is your body's way of telling you that you're living a lie, taking too much on & trying to please others too much, & of teaching you how to be true to yourself. Her descriptions sound suspiciously similar to the concept of stress followed by a nervous breakdown though she pointedly refuses to use either term, preferring to couch the exact same idea in poetic language to draw the same conclusions. To that extent there's nothing that new here, just some re-packaging & new marketing slogans. (Finallly, to the publishers: this is one of the most pleasing book covers that I've seen in a long time. That's what drew my attention & made me pick it up!)
Astonishingly helpful! - By: Ms. Sophie Jenkins, 13 Aug 2007 At a time when every bit of advice seems irrelevant or too impossible to even imagine following, "Sunbathing in the Rain" was just what I needed. I did find it cheering, comforting, soothing & motivating. Depression is very isolating & it was a huge comfort to read someone else's thoughts & experiences & think 'yes, that's just how it is!' I've read many other books on depression which didn't strike that chord & left me feeling more alone/down than ever.
I loved the easy reading style of Gwyneth Lewis's writing and, as she suggests, I picked & chose from the various things she found helpful, rejecting those that I didn't like the sound of without feeling alienated or offended.
I can see several reviewers felt very differently about this book but I would reallly urge anyone who is struggling to at least try it. Good luck!
