Book Description
In this compelling memoir, Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery. When Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter, Rowan Francis, into the world, something unexpected followed-a crippling depression. Now, for the first time ever, in Down Came the Rain, Brooke talks about the trials, tribulations, and finally the triumphs that occurred before, during, and after the birth of her daughter. In what is sure to strike a chord with the millions of women who suffer from depression after childbirth, America's sweetheart Brooke Shields shares how she, too, battled this debilitating condition that is widely misunderstood, despite the fact that it affects many new mothers. She discusses the illness in the context of her life, including her struggle to get pregnant, the high expectations she had for herself and that others placed on her as a new mom, and the role of her husband, friends, and family as she struggled to attain her maternal footing in the midst of a disabling depression. And, ultimately, Brooke shares how she found a way out through talk therapy, medication, and time. Exhibiting an informed voice and a self-deprecating sense of humor, this first memoir from a woman who has grown up before the eyes of the world is certain to attract the attention and empathy of many new mothers and fans alike.
About the Author
Brooke Shields has starred in many feature films, including Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon, and Black and White. She earned critical acclaim on Broadway for The Vagina Monologues and Cabaret, among other shows. She earned a People's Choice Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her starring role in Suddenly Susan. Brooke continues to lend aid to issues involving children's welfare and education.
Excerpted from Down Came the Rain : My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields. Copyright © 2005. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"At first I thought what I was feeling was just exhaustion, but with it came an overriding sense of panic that I had never felt before with fatigue. Rowan kept crying and I suddenly began to fear the moment when Chris would bring her back to me. I started to experience a sick sensation in my stomach; it was as if a vise was tightening around my chest. Instead of the nervous anxiety that often accompanies panic, a feeling of quiet devastation overcame me. I hardly moved. Sitting on my bed, I let out a deep, slow, guttural wail. I wasn't simply emotional or weepy like I had been told I might be. This was something quite different. When PMS made me introspective or melancholy or when the pressures of life made me gloomy, I knew these feelings wouldn't last forever. But this was sadness of a shockingly different magnitude. It felt as if it would never go away." --Brooke Shields, from Down Came the Rain
Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression FROM OUR EDITORS
When sitcom star Brooke Shields gave birth to her daughter, Rowan Francis, in May 2003, she didn't think that the arrival of her adorable infant would mark the onset of a crippling depression. Soon after the delivery, the famed actress found herself overwhelmed by waves of panic and quiet devastation. At first unable to identify her problem, she struggled to cope with motherhood and marriage while experiencing feelings of abject despair and fear. This disarmingly candid memoir follows Shields as she learns to battle her postpartum depression and describes how she eased this debilitating condition with talk therapy, medication, and reading. This is an informed, personal view of a serious illness affecting 10 to 20 percent of new mothers.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In this compelling memoir, Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery.
When Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter, Rowan Francis, into the world, something unexpected followed-a crippling depression. Now, for the first time ever, in Down Came the Rain, Brooke talks about the trials, tribulations, and finally the triumphs that occurred before, during, and after the birth of her daughter.
In what is sure to strike a chord with the millions of women who suffer from depression after childbirth, America's sweetheart Brooke Shields shares how she, too, battled this debilitating condition that is widely misunderstood, despite the fact that it affects many new mothers. She discusses the illness in the context of her life, including her struggle to get pregnant, the high expectations she had for herself and that others placed on her as a new mom, and the role of her husband, friends, and family as she struggled to attain her maternal footing in the midst of a disabling depression. And, ultimately, Brooke shares how she found a way out through talk therapy, medication, and time.
Exhibiting an informed voice and a self-deprecating sense of humor, this first memoir from a woman who has grown up before the eyes of the world is certain to attract the attention and empathy of many new mothers and fans alike.
Brooke Shields has starred in many feature films, including Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon, and Black and White. She earned critical acclaim on Broadway for The Vagina Monologues and Cabaret, among other shows. She earned a People's Choice Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her starring role in Suddenly Susan. Brooke continues to lend aid to issues involving children's welfare and education.
FROM THE CRITICS
Kirkus Reviews
Unsparing account of the actress's experience with acute postpartum anxiety disorder following the birth of her daughter in 2003. Shields also shares details about the pressures and frustrations of her struggle to get pregnant, her joy at finally conceiving, her uneventful pregnancy and the long labor that ended with a C-section. But the central story begins in the operating room, where the sight of her husband holding newborn Rowan filled her with "jealousy, fear, and rage." Recovering in the hospital, she assumed that her feelings of misery and alienation would change, but when her baby was brought to her to nurse, she felt no bond with the infant, whom she regarded as "a complete stranger." At home, physical exhaustion was accompanied by panic, dread and enormous sadness. Shields pulls no punches in describing her profound detachment from her child. She had no desire to pick up or care for Rowan, she admits; what she wanted was to run away. In the weeks following the birth, it became clear that Shields was suffering from a condition much more serious than "the baby blues." The antidepressant Paxil helped some, but her decision to go off it cold turkey was a serious mistake. Trying to reconcile motherhood and an acting career added to the pressure. (Shields's awareness of herself as a celebrity gives this memoir special interest.) She finally pulled out of her unnervingly severe postpartum depression with the help of psychotherapy in combination with other antidepressants. Educating herself about the condition and reading about other women's experiences also helped, as did the simple passage of time. In addition to her personal story, the author has included solid information aboutpostpartum depression; an afterword lists helpful books, Web sites and hot lines. Shields's forthright admission of feelings that many similarly afflicted new mothers deny could well spark valuable discussions about "this large white elephant sitting in the room that no one was supposed to talk about." First serial to Good Housekeeping; full hour on Oprah on pub date; three-parter on the Today Show
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