Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged A President And Fueled His Greatness (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
I am starting this review with two caveats. First, this book is engagingly written, and Joshua Wolf Shenk has done his research. In spite of this, I don't think it's a good first book for anyone to read on Lincoln, because much of Shenk's focus is on revisionist history. Although he does a laudable job providing brief overviews of some of the historiography on Lincoln, many readers will get more from this if they have a more detailed understanding of major events in Lincoln's life. Second, as a medieval historian who gravitates to social and cultural history, I have profound concerns about psychological interpretations of the past. As a graduate student, I was influenced by Thomas S. Kuhn's study of the role of paradigms in science, and as someone who teaches history of sexuality I can point to many examples of how medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, and scientists have constructed understandings of normality versus abnormality via frameworks that stem from the societies in which these scientists were trained and lived. I'm not suggesting that there is no physical or biological "truth" independent of culture; however, I am arguing that cultural norms play an influential role in how people construct paradigms to explain the world around them, and that these paradigms are not restricted to myths and legends, but extend to other areas of life, including not only religion but also science. I have particular concerns about applications of Freudian theory to other societies -- for example, Erik Erikson's Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History, in which Erikson applies psychoanalytic theory to understanding Martin Luther's life, made me alternatively laugh and grind my teeth. Because of these concerns, I was happy to read Shenk's very clear statements in Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled his Greatness that he was not interested in applying modern views of depression and mental health wholesale to his analysis of Lincoln's sadness. I agree with the importance of his project, to expand studies of Lincoln into a his ideas, thoughts, emotions, contextualizing all these elements in Lincoln's culture. The three stars I have given to this book show that, in my opinion, Shenk achieved this goal in part, but not completely. Abraham LincolnShenk divides the book into three sections. In the first, he explores Lincoln's childhood, family background, and young adulthood, while also providing a basic framework to understand how his life exemplifies certain aspects of depression. In this discussion, he moves back and forth between modern definitions, and contemporary understandings of melancholy and hypochondriasis, delving both into literature on the history of medicine and primary sources written by Lincoln and his friends and associates. Shenk also revisits historiographic controversy over Lincoln's relationship with Ann Rutledge, whose death occurred at the time of Lincoln's first major breakdown in 1835. Shenk carefully sifts through existing sources, and provides a cautious revisionist interpretation of what Rutledge may have meant to Lincoln. Shenk concludes this section with a lengthy discussion of events in Lincoln's life leading up to his second major breakdown in 1840-1841. Once again, Shenk questions some historians' assumption that a temporary parting with Mary Todd led to the breakdown, instead discussing the vague nature of evidence, recreating timelines, and expanding his consideration of stresses in Lincoln's life beyond the romantic to Lincoln's political career. He spends much time discussing Lincoln's close friendship with Joshua Speed, drawing some parallels between their experiences and using Speed as a source on Lincoln's life in this period. Throughout this section, Shenk argues that Lincoln's emotions fit patterns for melancholy in his time, and, to some extent, depression in our time. I found particularly interesting Shenk's discussion of treatments of hypochondriasis and melancholy in Lincoln's time, and wish he had continued to focus on this context through, rather than relying as much as he did on ore current thinking about depression. Ann Rutledge and Abraham Lincoln -- truth or myth?In the second section of the book, Shenk shifts his focus to Lincoln's determination in the face of his melancholy. He bore certain pressures as a self-made man, a new role that put Lincoln particularly at risk to be intensely self-critical and pessimistic, as he bore the responsibility for his achievements. Shenk also explores some of the intellectual currents of Lincoln's time that fueled his intense self-examination. Throughout this discussion, Shenk provides some context to understand Lincoln's fatalism and sense of destiny, not only through cultural context, but also through an analysis of Lincoln's writings. Mary Todd LincolnShenk's approach to understanding the persistence of Lincoln's melancholy after he was married shows a renewed reliance on modern understandings of depression: "From the perspective of modern clinicians, the persistence and quality of Lincoln's symptoms call for a new diagnostic framework. Major depressive disorder, which applies to Lincoln's earlier years, best describes a series of discrete episodes, even if they go on for many months at a time. But when a condition lasts for more than two years, even with some breaks in symptoms, it is considered to be a chronic depression. Episodic and chronic depressions have much in common, but the distinction matters. Imagine a person who begins to travel abroad as a tourist. The first few trips are memorable—when they started, how long they lasted. But if the trips grow in frequency and duration, at some point the tourist would become known as an expatriate. The destination need not have changed, but the nature of the journey would call for a qualitative, not just a quantitative, distinction."As it turns out, the "land" of chronic depression is one for which few guidebooks have been written. The psychologist James P. McCullough, Jr., one authority on the condition, describes it as "grossly misdiagnosed, understudied, and undertreated." This poses both a challenge and an opportunity in the study of Lincoln. The existing literature can't definitively contextualize his experience. But his life, supplemented with the shards of knowledge on chronic depression, can offer a new and valuable context. In particular, it shows how depression, for good and for ill, can blend slowly, subtly, but surely with a person as he works to bring himself into balance."I think that Shenk's approach, looking to Lincoln's life to lend perspective to depression, and looking to research on depression to understand Lincoln's life, leads him to rely too much on this modern perspective and research, especially in the second and third parts of the biography. He did not have to take this approach -- in places, he discusses the 19th-century view that melancholy led not only to suffering, but also to gifts for the sufferer. And this argument constitutes Shenk's main thesis, which he explores in detail throughout his third section -- that Lincoln responded to his melancholy and breakdowns by deciding, at a certain point, that he had to continue on to fulfill a destiny much greater than he was, one that grew over time to be tied to the realization of the Founders' view for this country as a place of freedom. Lincoln recognized the gaps between this ideal and the reality of the Founders' views as implemented, but he viewed American history as unfolding and leading towards progress. According to Shenk, over time Lincoln saw the abolition of slavery as a means to help achieve this goal. In addition, Lincoln's fatalism provided him with strengths during his Presidency, as he did not tend to be over optimistic in his assessment of the Union's progress in the Civil War.As a whole, I did like this book. It's thoughtful, well-researched, and engaging. Shenk also provides some useful statements about the dangers of relying on modern definitions of depression to understand Lincoln. His analysis of Lincoln's breakdowns after Ann Rutledge died in 1835 and in 1840-1841 provide some excellent examples of historical analysis of vague primary sources. And many of Shenk's analysis of Lincoln are engaging, as in his chapter exploring Lincoln's coping strategies, including humor. In the end, though, I found Shenk to be overly-reliant on these models and research. I wish he had devoted some more time to expanding on some of the fascinating contextual information he provides, as I think he's at his best when focusing on Lincoln's time period. I also wish he had been more consistent in his analysis in differentiating between contemporary reflections on Lincoln (in letters and writings from the time), and retrospective reflections by Lincoln's associates and friends. As a whole, though, this is a biography that provides a different emphasis to undertand Lincoln, as well as some new topics and themes to explore in studying the emotional and intellectual world of Lincoln and his contemporaries.
My wonderful boyfriend got this book for me for Christmas, after hearing about it on NPR. I was worried it would be terribly dry, but it was a pretty interesting, fast read.Today, people who are depressed are told to "snap out of it!" or go to a doctor and get on drugs. In Lincoln's day, melancholy was looked at romantically, as a sign of deep thinking and deeper feeling. Many great poets came out of his era, frequently lauded for their melancholy, and Lincoln himself loved poetry and occasionally tried his hand at it.Mr. Shenk methodically explores the past theories and research and makes a good case for throwing out some old theories (that he stood up Mary Todd initially, that his heart was broken by a woman named Anna), and for backing up some other, less popular ones (he and Mary had a good marriage, considering). He explains the personalities and political leanings behind historians over the years who slanted their research and/or conclusions to suit their theories and wishes for Mr. Lincoln, and how history is not something that occurs in a vacuum. It is amazing the amount of materials (letters, poems, eyewitness accounts) left behind regarding Lincoln, and yet also amazing how much guesswork is still involved.Lincoln's depression or melancholy made him a better president and a better human being. He was empathetic to an extreme degree, mostly pardoning deserters during the war, and writing heat-felt letters of sympathy to survivors. He had suffered tragedy frequently and early, losing his mother, his brother, and his son. His melancholy made him appreciative of his accomplishments and position, and made him open to others' opinions. It is sad that he suffered considerably, including a period in his early 20s when his depression was so severe and obvious that his friends arranged and sat up for a suicide watch. And yet, we are all fortunate recipients of the results of his depression, which made his disinclined to rule by fiat, punish the South, or impose strong-arm policies. (After his death the South was punished by his successors which created havoc, the consequences of which occasionally can still be seen today.)Mr. Shenk doesn't get bogged down in minutia, nor does he get sidetracked from his primary thread. We don't hear much about certain things we might think, such as his failure with multiple generals and the bickering amongst his cabinet. You will learn a lot about Lincoln from this book, but not being a general biography, one might be surprised at certain events that are glossed over. It can be very reassuring to hear that Lincoln thought himself to be a complete failure just two years before his election as President, and lamented that he would be able to do nothing for history, while the name of Stephen Douglas would be remembered for all time, he thought. If a failed shopkeeper, twice defeated for Senate, can rise to such heights despite his great flaws, what can we accomplish if we set our minds to it?
What do You think about Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged A President And Fueled His Greatness (2006)?
I felt like I'd read ALL about Abraham Lincoln, especially when it came to his years in office as President.After finishing this book, I feel like I now know LESS about him than I did before.Shenk has done a remarkable and thorough job poring over vast collections of papers, letters, correspondence and previously published works in regard to a Lincoln we rarely see:-The young Lincoln (passionate, somewhat volatile, and full of wicked wit and humor, but equally prone to "dark moods").-The resigned Lincoln (who, in his mid to late 20's-- after suffering through a myriad of personal griefs and tragedies-- went through what could be called his first bout of serious depression).In addition, this served as a great explanation in the contrast between how society and medicine (now vs. then) perceived melancholy/depression.There's far too much here to sum up succinctly and well in a review, so I can only encourage those who are either interested in more on Lincoln's personal character or interested in the realm of depression as a whole to please read this incredibly well-written and documented book.As far as how Lincoln's melancholy fueled his greatness, one paragraph stood out to me as a prime explanation:When a depressed person does get out of bed, it's usually not with a sudden insight that life is rich and valuable, but out of some creeping sense of duty or instinct for survival. If collapsing is sometimes vital, so is the brute force of will. To William James we owe the insight that, in the absence of real health, we sometimes must act as if we are healthy. Buoyed by such discipline and habit, we might achieve actual well-being. As Lincoln advised a grumbling general who felt humiliated at having only three thousand men under his command, "'Act well your part, there all the honor lies.' He who does something at the head of one Regiment, will eclipse him who does nothing at the head of a hundred."
—Gloria
"Lincoln's Melancholy" gives the reader a rare glimpse into the inner world of one of the greatest men who has ever lived. Joshua Shenk delves very deeply into Lincoln's formative years, and how Lincoln's depressive disorder (referred to as "melancholy" in the 19th century) fueled his greatness as America's Civil War president. It becomes clear while reading "Melancholy", that Lincoln's personal suffering, including his own battle with depression and suicidal ideation, the loss of three out of his four sons (two sons died while Lincoln was in office), and his tumultuous marriage to Mary Todd, are sufferings that led him to a profound understanding of the unspeakable tragedy of war, and how this understanding enabled Lincoln to persevere and triumph in the face of America's most devastating crises.
—Heather Crabill
Tremendous biography with a great mix of: (a) fascinating historical and psychological context for some of the most-trod Lincoln stories, (b) some fascinating less-known nuggets, (c) very strong, surprisingly propulsive writing, and (d) a good sense of how to ground this particular element of Lincoln's story in modern times, without beating you over the head with it.Best of all, Mr. Shenk builds a compelling thesis, and allows it to guide him, but he never lets the thesis overtake the rest of the story. I imagine there would be a temptation, given the overwhelming evidence of Lincoln's melancholy, to find signs of the import of that part of his character in every corner of history, but Mr. Shenk avoids that temptation, and delivers a portrait that is nuanced, compelling and appropriately uncertain...Loved it.
—Corey Preston
