Black Men and Depression

"A call to action shedding light on the issue of depression in black men and the barriers that prevent too many from seeking and receiving car."

—Rosalynn Carter, Former U.S. First Lady, and Chairperson, The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force

"Standing in the Shadows is a brave, unblinking look at what it is like to be an African American man with depression.  John Head’s insightful analysis of the connection between racism and this illness should be required  reading for everyone who cares that African American men are often absent from their families, are in jails and prisons in disproportionate numbers, and die at an alarming rates from suicide.”

—Cynthia Wainscott, Chair, National Mental Health Association

"John Head deftly takes us on a personal and cultural journey into the nature of depression and the social stigmas that surround it. Standing in the Shadows is an insightful, compelling, and practical guide."

—Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D., co-director, Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media.

"This book does not haggle with statistics and scientific discoveries . . . .it literally keeps the topic of depression and black men honest by taking us through a progressive journey that helps us understand the real hurdles. Before you delve into any medical journal . . . read this book first so that you will have a deeper understanding of the topic and develop a good foundation."

— Donna Holland Barnes, Ph.D, resident and co-founder of the National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide and assistant professor in
the department of psychiatry at Howard University.

"Neither a polemic nor a weepy tell-all, Standing in the Shadows is a sobering look at what the world’s most common mental illness is doing to a big chunk of our population—with well-researched words of hope and help for those men and the people who love them."

—Tracy Thompson, author of The Beast: A Reckoning with Depression

“John Head’s Standing in the Shadows is a "must read" for the black man suffering from the lingering, tormenting blues and for anyone who knows him. Head makes the experience of depression real in heartfelt, well-crafted vignettes that give substance to his demand that we acknowledge, name, understand, and do something to ease the psychic pain that many black men suffer in relative silence.”

—Sandra C. Walker, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst