Depression and Narrative: Telling the Dark

Depression and Narrative examines stories of depression in the context of recent scholarship on illness and narrative, which up to this point has largely focused on physical illness and disability. Contributors from a number of disciplinary perspectives address these narrative accounts of depression, by both sufferers and those who treat them, as they appear in memoirs, diaries, novels, poems, oral interviews, fact sheets, blogs, films, and television shows.

Spanning 13 professional seasons, this colorful and personal account of one man's life on the grueling pro tennis circuit pulls no punches. As one of only two players over the age of 30 ranked in the top 20 players in the world, Vince Spadea offers an inside perspective on his life as a world-class athlete: 11-month seasons, 68 tournaments, five continents, four court surfaces, and countless hits and misses. Starting at age eight under the tutelage of his demanding father, he climbed the rankings, battling injury, coaching decisions, and snubs from both fans and players.

When trying to explain any success or failure in second language (L2) learning, the term 'motivation' is often used by teachers and students alike. Indeed, motivation is one of the key learner factors that determines the rate and success of L2 attainment: it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long learning process. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals. This book takes a practical approach to teaching motivational strategies

Margaret Atwood's international celebrity has given a new visibility to Canadian literature in English. This Companion provides a comprehensive critical account of Atwood's writing across the wide range of genres within which she has worked for the past forty years, while paying attention to her Canadian cultural context and the multiple dimensions of her celebrity. The main concern is with Atwood the writer, but there is also Atwood the media star and public performer, cultural critic, environmentalist and human rights spokeswoman, social and political satirist, and mythmaker. 

On the Heights of Despair

The dark, existential despair of Romanian philosopher Cioran's short meditations is paradoxically bracing and life-affirming. Written in 1934, when he was 22 and desperately insomniac, this feverishly lyrical, at times slyly humorous confessional outpouring reveals Cioran as an angry young man in morally decaying Europe--a far cry from the elegant, curt stylist of his later books. Here Cioran rails at life's irrationality and absurdities; embraces solitude, melancholy and the awareness of death...