Against Happiness

Nonfiction book

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Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy

Author| Eric G. Wilson
Language| English
Subject| Pro-melancholy
Publisher| Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication date

| January 22, 2008
Publication place| United States
Media type| Hardback
Pages| 176
ISBN| 978-0-374-24066-0
OCLC| 156818826

Dewey Decimal

| 152.4 22
LC Class| BF575.M44 W55 2008

Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy is a nonfiction book by Eric G. Wilson that examines the benefits of being sad.[1] The author denotes in the book that diagnosable conditions should be treated accordingly, and is in no way saying it is "normal" or "good" to be depressed. Rather, he seeks to point out that melancholy, or as he dubs it "generative melancholy" can be a powerfully creative force that has motivated the likes of Virginia Woolf, John Keats, Vincent van Gogh, and Ludwig van Beethoven to produce some of the greatest artistic masterpieces of their respective genres. Further, he expresses concern that America's aggressive diagnosis of any negative mood, however slight, as bad, abnormal, or dangerous will lead to an eradication of one of the most powerfully inspirational and motivational forces and its potential products.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Keillor, Garrison (2008-03-16). "Woe Be Gone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-12.

## External links

[edit]

* NPR story on the book

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[LC Class]: Library of Congress Classification