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Is it possible for a writer whose credibility has been questioned in the past to deliver a credible message now? This is the query at the heart of deep division over Johann Hari’s new book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the real causes of depression – and the unexpected solutions.
In it, Hari, who apologised over plagiarism claims in 2011, relies heavily on personal and anecdotal experience to relay stories from across the globe about things that can stand as alternatives to antidepressant medications, such as community engagement and personal empowerment. He takes aim at the theory that depression is a brain-chemical imbalance and assigns most ownership of it to the pharmaceutical industry as a self-serving premise on which our entire understanding of this illness is built.
There has been praise from those who find hope in Hari’s take. But also strident criticism, from two