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Shades of Blue: Writers on Depression, Suicide and Feeling Blue

Melissa Firman
6 min readAug 12, 2019

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Robin Williams’ death was the catalyst for 35 writers to share their personal experiences with depression and suicide.

Five years ago today, the world lost beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams to suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), approximately 1 in 5 adults in the United States — 43.8 million people (or 18.5%) experiences mental illness in a given year. In 2014, the year Robin Williams took his life, nearly 43,000 people did the same.

Yet so many remain silent because of the overwhelming stigma and misunderstandings surrounding mental health.

What’s even more powerful, though, is sharing our stories of depression, anxiety, and suicide to let others know that they’re not alone.

Robin Williams’ death was the catalyst for author, screenwriter, editor and playwright Amy Ferris “to turn that deep sadness — that deep dark shade of blue — into action.” The result of her efforts is Shades of Blue: Writers on Depression, Suicide and Feeling Blue, an anthology of 35 very powerful, very personal stories and experiences, including Ferris’ own, that shed a light on…

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Melissa Firman
Melissa Firman

Written by Melissa Firman

Writes about books, GenX, politics, life. Currently working on a memoir. www.melissafirman.com

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