Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.8527
EAN num: 9781579545703
ISBN number: 157954570X
Label: Rodale Books
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 272
Printing Date: November 25, 2002
Publishing house: Rodale Books
Sale Popularity Level: 734483
Studio: Rodale Books
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From The Van Gogh Blues ...
'...virtually 100 percent of creative people will suffer from episodes of depression. Why virtually 100 percent? Because every creative person came out of the womb ready to interrogate life and determine for herself what life would mean, could mean, and should mean. Her gift or curse was that she was born ready to stubbornly doubt received wisdom and disbelieve that anyone but she was entitled to provide answers to her own meaning questions.'
Creative people of all kinds look for understanding, empathy, and meaning in life. That is what they do, what they work with. This will often lead to depression-- but not because understanding, empathy, and meaning are not possible. They are simply not always on terms that are easy to accept. This depression of creative people does not have to be physiological, nor does it necessarily respond to pharmaceutical treatments.
Dr. Eric Maisel, an internationally known expert on the creative process and best-selling author, has developed a four-step plan for engaging this type of depression and moving past it. Using examples of famous creators like Vincent van Gogh and Fyodor Dostoyevsky and not-so-famous creators who have struggled with this kind of depression, he shows that despite the difficulty, creative people hold the ability to forge relationships, repair themselves, and create meaning in an utterly unique and powerful way. Dr. Maisel's approach legitimizes creative people's own instinctual beliefs that standard treatments are not the answer.
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Rated by buyers 
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I think despite being an update to Viktor Frankl and carrying the same existentialist message, this is a much better book than Frankl's classic, man and Meaning.
I want to address a few comments below though.
1-- similiar to Julia Cameron.
The only similiarity to JC is that they have the same publisher, Jeremy Tarcher. Other than that, I don't see much overlap. While the problems they address are the same, you could say that Maisel is the reason, the logic behind what JC does.....JC is plan but VGB the plan, her Sound of Paper is one of her best btw (yes I've read them all).
2-it doesn't given an action plan.
Well actually it does. And the plan is to act. The plan is to plan often, badly, constantly and ongoingly. The plan in this book is do something not anything, but something like Don Juan says in Castaneda's books, something that has heart. Maisel makes it very clear that without that, that meaning which is personal like Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, you are lost and depressed. He actually makes his goal clearer than Frankl does.
So what's wrong with the book. It's got an odd style that takes some time to get used to. The name VGB is total koan, vg has nothing to do with the book and Maisel admits that. Most of what Maisel does write about VG shows he knows little about the art and history of VG, he just likes his work. That's cool and it's a great name for a book...hey I bought it. And finally, its oddly organised. I think someone has to work that out a bit better. There is room for improvement there.
One caveat, if you are religious you may have trouble with Maisels gods and such. It's only in the beginning of the book but I think some monotheists could be put off by this. I know I did not like it, but that's Maisel's issue not ours. He's obviously an existential atheist but don't kill the messenger because you don't like his garb; the message is solid.
And finally, one book that does dovetail well with this and gived you an action plan is Stephen Covey's Putting First Things First and/or the 7 Habits. I like the very first one better personally. Whatever your religious persuasion using the two together would really get results as the important thing is to keep going, and never give up hope. Good luck and keep reading -- its the only game in town.
Rated by buyers 
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I love this book! It addresses how depression differs for creative people who are trying to make meaning of life and their lives. I always had this kind of depression and remember trying to explain this concept to a therapist many years ago. He just didn't understand. I wish I'd had this book to show him then.
Rated by buyers -
Although there is, strictly speaking, nothing new in this book, it is somehow packaged in such a way that it made me sit up and really think about the meaning of my life. I have read a lot of inspirational books, a lot of them crap, others that briefly sparked me. None of them, however, really made me look at what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Not a panacea, and probably not for everyone, but worth checking out.
Rated by buyers -
Acclaimed singer Alanis Morissette, promoting her album Jagged Little Pill in 1995, reported feeling a "dissonance in the midst of all the external success.. I was expected to be overjoyed by it, and at the same time I was disillusioned by it."
This kind of "crisis of meaning" - which many highly talented and creative people experience - is addressed in the book as a key element in depression.
Psychotherapist and creativity coach Eric Maisel acknowledges that medication or biological treatment, as well as therapy may help in alleviating depression, but he emphasizes that "Creators have trouble maintaining meaning... Not creating is depressing."
In addition to a number of perspectives and insights by artists, the book provides information and cognitive behavioral strategies from a variety of psychologists and creativity coaches to help deal with meaning crises that can erode creative expression and mental health.
Rated by buyers -
"THE VAN GOGH BLUES" tells us that there is another route to the one that van Gogh took, and that is by creating meaning or rather meaningfulness in our own lives. I especially got a lot out of reading the exerpts from other people about depression, creativity and the meaning of life. Meaning is a difficult concept, and I think Eric Maisel makes a brave endeavor to break it down and pull it apart from all directions. However, towards the latter end of the book, I felt that trying to label everything with a "meaning" label, lost meaning for me. Nevertheless, the main thing I got from this book is that there are a lot of people out there trying to make sense of their lives, artists or not, and finding ways that give us pleasure in creating things or admiring others' creation is one way to achieve this. I feel the core message of this book is that when you feel depressed, identify it, accept it and find your own personal way out, whatever that may be, to deal with depression when and as it occurs - which it undoubtedly will and on a regular basis for many of us.
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