Lay My Burden Down

Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African-Americans

Author: Alvin F. Poussaint
Secondary Author: Amy Alexander
ISBN: 142236061X

"A remarkable achievement." —Harriet A. Washington, The New England Journal of Medicine Through stories (including their own), interviews, and analysis of the most recent data available, Dr. Alvin Poussaint and journalist Amy Alexander offer a groundbreaking look at "posttraumatic slavery syndrome," the unique physical and emotional perils for black people that are the legacy of slavery and persistent racism. They examine the historical, cultural, and social factors that make many blacks reluctant to seek health care, and cite ways that everyone from the layperson to the health care provider can help. "As a black woman thrashing with the new class divide and an intermittent but chronic depression that feels as old as rivers, I found [Lay My Burden Down] a relief, an assured voice in a wilderness [that] I felt I was essentially wandering alone." —Erin Aubry Kaplan, Salon "A persuasive moral indictment of the mental-health establishment for not working harder to rid itself of prejudi

Publisher: Beacon Press
Publish Date: 2001

Subjects: Psychology / Suicide, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Cross-Cultural Center (Location: Black/African American (BLCK))