Andrew Solomon won the 2001 National Book Award for his book The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. In this Fresh Air interview from 2001, Terry Gross talks with him about the book and the mental illness of depression.
Most of the interview is related to Solomon's personal struggles with depression that he recounts in the book. He talks about his first depressive breakdown following the death of his mother and other factors that led him into a major depression. Solomon provides his personal views on the pharmaceutical industry and expresses how he feels the psychiatric drugs he takes help him avoid the worst of depressive illness. Solomon explains stories from the book, including some from the people he interviewed around the world about depression.