Night Shift: An insight into depression that words often struggle to reach

I was disappointed that there is so little of this book. But what there is is useful.

Moving and empathetic images that reflect the despair and physical symptoms that can accompany depression.But also offering hope; the idea of the dragons of the mind transforming slowly into beautiful diving sea birds particularly powerful.A shame, for once, that I am a retired GP.Would have had no problem in recommending this book to anyone with depression, and to friends and family of such patients.

Wonderfully illustrated and short. A lovely coffee table book. This book was made to be picked up and reach into your inner anxiety. Its a short but poignant inner story expressed with the most minimal of words and graceful illustrations. Thank you to the author and publisher for producing it

My local library is currently doing a display which features this beautiful book. I got my copy from there.I love the illustrations & how few words there are. Many feel a depth of despair, or inadequacy, or loneliness, or any other negative emotion that leaves them with a loss for words, and Debi Gliori portrays this beautifully in Night Shift. The cover is gorgeous, and the dragon captivated me straight away whilst it was sitting on our prep trolley. This book is perfect for both those with depression and those without. For those like myself who do struggle with mental illness or times when they've felt down, it is relate-able and a comfort to know you're not alone. For those who haven't experienced depression, Night Shift offers an insight as to what it can be like, helping the reader to understand a bit better how it effects those who do suffer from it.

A truly uplifting and poignant picture book, really illustrating the internal battle that depression brings. Using the night, and dragons as metaphors, there is something here to 'sing' to anyone suffering from depression, or supporting someone who is.I loved it...especially the hope.Perfect.

The first thing I noticed about this little book ( it is 15.5cm tall and 18.5cm long, so shorter than an average book) is the beautiful presentation. It is a dark inky blue with a white/silver dragon design covering the front, very gothic and dare I say glamorous.The paper ( I know paper quality doesn't usually matter to a book, but in a picture book it makes a huge difference in my opinion) is a thick, luxurious cream colour with smoky grey/black illustrations and writing, making it so much kinder on the eye than white would be. It also feels right for a book dealing with this subject, it is thick and heavy with an almost handmade feel to it- this definitely enhances the theme of the book and is a genius choice.The illustrations are threatening, dark and moody , something that i would imagine is incredibly hard to do with this type of "cartoon" style, but these have hit that note full on.The words are few, only a sentence or two on each picture ( sometimes the picture covers a double page with the writing on only one side) but they, again, are well thought out, I would have liked to see a few more pages if I'm honest as I thought that the journey from the darkest moment to the start of recovery was not built up as gently as how the book dealt with the onset of the dark times.If you are someone who has dealt with ( or are dealing with) depression you will recognise a lot of the feelings captured in this book and it may not be an entirely comfortable read ( no one likes to revisit being ill ) but none the less it is a small reassurance that you are not alone and that like all things "this too shall pass".In my opinion this book is suitable for practically all ages ( children get depressed too!) and it could provide a good starting point for a counciling session, discussing the pictures and how they relate to what is being felt etc

This is a beautiful wee book. When I first received it, I spent a while looking at the embossed cover: the contrast between the script and the background is gorgeously printed. It's a slim volume, though just about big enough to give the illustrations room to breathe.Depression is deeply subjective. It's difficult to describe to people who don't have it. Thus there's a great deal of misunderstanding about how it can affect every part of one's life. I've discussed my condition with other depressives and it impacts us in different ways.The beauty of Gliori's book is that she's managed to touch on some truths about depression that resonate with me - someone she's never met, and based on the other reviews I've seen, it seems that I'm not alone in experiencing this. There's something about the combination of illustrations and text that works on a visceral level, like "yes, I know this feeling".This sort of empathetic understanding is comforting on a deep level as well. I read through the book in one sitting when I received it (it's a short picture-book - not much of an accomplishment) but I've returned to it a few times, just flipping through it and looking at the illustrations. It isn't exactly a coffee-table book, but it's something that you're likely to want to keep on hand.

There is a page which talks about others being worse off than you. This is a classic mistake in talking to those with depression. I wouldn't buy this book.