Dervala: Against Depression.

When we’re talking, he often has to stop and go somewhere else in his mind. That’s when his face takes on a rigid cast, and while I wait for him to come back I can see the lines that suffering has drawn. They’re different from the usual laughing, talking, and frowning lines. These ones come from holding still, not from moving. He can’t stay in one position for long, and sometimes, when it’s very bad, he’s short with the three children whom he adores.

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Our judges said:
An unflinching, clear-eyed, and ultimately life-affirming account of the author’s struggle with what she argues remains a dangerously misunderstood condition.

I simply loved the phrase “Plain old normal days tasted crisp and delicious”. If only they all felt like that. Far too many of the blogs I read are flippant and disposable - there’s nothing wrong with that, but it is good to read such a considered post once in a while.

This piece looks at depression in a way that makes it unmistakably recognizable for those who have lived with it and beautifully communicates it to those who haven’t. There were other solid entries, but the gravity and grace of this one places it in a special category.