In deciding whether to try St. John's wort to treat my depression,
I skimmed through a lot of books about it and read three, and I
liked this book the best. I appreciate that, although Dr. Cass
seems to prefer alternative treatments for depression--including
St. John's wort and megadoses of vitamins and minerals--she is not
ideologically opposed to conventional antidepressants, which she
also prescribes, and so she is able to offer helpful comments on
the relative merits and appropriate roles of St. John's wort and
conventional antidepressants. The book includes chapters on what
depression is, what St. John's wort is, how to use it, the evidence
for its efficacy, conventional antidepressants, nutrition, and
other elements of a depression-free lifestyle.
Other recommendations on depression: Richard O'Connor's Undoing
Depression, John and Andrea Nelson's Sacred Sorrows, and William
Appleton's Prozac and the New Antidepressants.