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In attempting to convey what this outstanding book is all about, as well as the style and spirit in which it is written, I can do no better than to cite the author's own message in her conclusion that, in the evolutionary gift of the “basic depressive response,” our species has the fortune of possessing
a precious genetic heritage in our tendency to take pause and, if necessary, withdraw when we are perplexed about our functioning. Although unintentional and often distressing, this tendency can help us to become more observant of our perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and memories of the moment and to integrate them in new ways to solve the puzzle so that life can become more meaningful. Therefore, it is essential that we respect the development of this capacity in our children; that we help our partners and our patients to exercise it; and that we dare exercise it ourselves. (p. 249)
For the psychodynamically aware researcher or clinician, in this age of biological reductionism in psychiatry with all the potential dehumanization and psychotherapeutic nihilism attendant thereto, it is always refreshing and uplifting to read scholarly works by serious and competent professionals who convincingly present a perspective from which the horse can still be recognized as coming before the cart. In the work under review this means that the primary causes, work, and process of depression most often and in most people stem from complex cognitive/affective responses of individuals to past and present real life situations, events, experiences, relationships, and self concepts rather than from “chemical imbalance.” Adding to the current relevance and importance of Gut's seminal work is her view that the subjective distress and behavioral withdrawal in the depressive response is an evolutionarily determined adaptive response potentially facilitating a person's becoming aware of the need for problem resolution and the opportunity to reevaluate and regroup toward that end. In other word