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Eyes without sparkle - a journey through postnatal illness

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Gisela Hermes: new book on disabled parents published in Germany

Eyes without sparkle – a journey through postnatal illness

Eyes without sparkle is reviewed by Lesley Rands, whose own experience of overcoming postnatal depression appears under Parents experience.

This book is the personal account of a woman who experienced puerperal psychosis (the most severe form of postnatal depression) following the birth of her first child.

The book begins with a foreword by Judith Ellis, Chief Nurse and Director of Workforce Development at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The main text introduces a competent, efficient professional woman – quite a contrast to the institutionalised shell that she became with the illness. The reader is taken on an emotive journey through the author’s pregnancy and its complications, her son’s birth and the subsequent onset of the illness, her treatment (including an admission to a psychiatric hospital), her recovery and into the post-recovery period. During this time, she wrote about her experiences, and has taken part as a guest speaker in conferences related to both mental health and nursing care.

Anyone who has had children or suffered from depression can empathise with the author’s feelings during the build-up to her illness, and can understand the impact that insensitive treatment can have on a patient, especially when their emotional sensitivity is heightened just after giving birth. Although the book is primarily about postnatal depression, it could be relevant to any form of depressive illness.

The final chapter is written by Thelma Osborne, a health visitor and counsellor specialising in postnatal depression, and it gives a broad overview of emotional disorders associated with childbirth. There are also appendices containing lists of books and other publications relevant to postnatal depression, and useful contact details for supportive organisations and groups.

Eyes without sparkle is informative and a useful quick reference guide. In addition, it is a good human interest story. The author doesn’t portray herself as a heroine, but gives reassurance to others in similar situations that they, too, can make a full recovery.

Lesley Rands

Eyes without sparkle – a journey through postnatal illness, Elaine A Hanzak, 2005, Oxford/Seattle: Radcliffe Publishing. ISBN 1 85775 655 X.

Available from bookshops. Price: £16.95 Also available from the RNIB in digital talking book format.

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