Memoirist Mary Cregan will discuss her new book, The Scar: A Personal History of Depression and Recovery¸ and her struggle with depression with Angelina Miceli, Asst. Clinical Director at Positive Directions.
At the age of 27, Mary Cregan led a seemingly enviable life: she was working in publishing and married to her college boyfriend, with a first child on the way. After an easy full-term pregnancy, she gave birth to a baby girl, Anna. But in the hours that followed, it slowly became clear that something was terribly wrong. Two days later Anna died, triggering Mary’s descent into severe depression. Anna’s death was followed by Mary’s diagnosis and hospitalization for melancholic depression; a near-fatal suicide attempt on a locked unit was the low point of her long and arduous path to recovery. A scar from that attempt is a constant reminder of her darkest days, but also of how far she has come.
Community Partners: Westport Department of Human Services and Positive Directions, The Barnard Club of CT
The Scar is at once an intimate narrative and an education in the history of melancholia, the asylum, electroconvulsive therapy, antidepressants, and the experience of those who suffer from depression. Cregan’s unflinching honesty, along with her research into a range of issues that affect a life with depressive disorder, makes THE SCAR an unforgettable and poignant act of reflection. It also provides insight into the management of depression that will offer hope to anyone struggling with the illness.
Mary Cregan is a lecturer in English literature at Barnard College in New York City. She holds an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and a PhD in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. Her work has previously appeared in a variety of publications, including the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Financial Times. The Scar is her first book. Author photo credit James Shapiro
Angelina Miceli, LCSW, is the Asst. Clinical Director of Positive Directions— The Center for Prevention and Counseling. She is an experienced clinician who has provided individual and group psychotherapy in the school system as well as in both the non-profit and private sectors. Angelina is passionate about helping adolescents and adults work through and overcome challenges such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, marital conflict, grief, loss and traumas. She believes that her clients are the experts on their lives and, in turn, are the most important tool in their healing process. Angelina draws from her experience using Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT), psychodynamic, insight-oriented and strengths-based approaches.
