I came to this book at a time when the antidepressants that I'm on are working less well than they used to. I came, I'll admit, looking for easy answers. There aren't really easy answers in this book, but I'd recommend it to anyone who struggles with depression and anxiety.

The book is divided into three parts. The first looks at antidepressants and questions their effectiveness beyond a simple placebo effect. The second looks at the possible reasons for depression and the increase in people experiencing depression. The third recommends ways of addressing these reasons for depression.

The first section of the book is well researched and well argued. Hari covers the history of antidepressants and they way Big Pharma manipulated studies to make antidepressants look more effective than they actually are. He gives space here to the opposite point of view. On a logical level, his argument is persuasive. Having been in the depths of depression and taking antidepressants makes it harder for me to believe. Even though I've been in the depths and recovered without antidepressants, it's hard for me not to attribute my most recent recover to the meds. It's something that I need to read more about but might also help give me the courage to move on from antidepressants and look more deeply at the causes my depression.

The second section of the book is the most interesting. Here Hari tries to look beyond the biological explanation of depression that justifies the use of antidepressants. He also looks into the psychological and social causes of depression. Here again, Hari is fairly convincing. He looks at various types of lost connection. From losing a connection to nature to losing connection to meaningful work, there was a lot here that resonated with me.

The third section, where Hari recommends ways of addressing these lost connections, is both the most useful and the most problematic. There is much I loved here, and much that I want to read more about. I worry, though, that some of the recommendations in these chapters align very neatly with Hari's politics. I worry about this because his politics are my politics. There are areas where I would have liked him to approach a topic more critically, such as the section on universal basic income. He dismisses the simpler criticisms of this idea ("but people won't work"), but he evades having to address the more worrying criticisms such as a universal basic income potentially increasing inequality.

Nevertheless, I'd recommend reading this book if you or someone you know has been affected by depression or anxiety. To his credit, Hari states several times that this book is a starting point. As a starting point, it is a resounding success. I'll be following up and learning more about the work of the Bromley-by-Boy Center and sympathetic joy meditation. And one of his key messages is important: that they increase in depression has a lot to do with the way we live now. Changing this is daunting, but is worth the effort.