I think I started reading memoirs centered on mental health well over ten years ago because books like The Glass Castle and Prozac Nation were book club picks. I’ve read a few more since then, but I’m by no means an expert in the genre. The Valedictorian of Being Dead centers on Armstrong’s experimental therapy for severe depression that involved extreme anesthesia instead of electroconvulsive therapy. She’s pretty explicit about her reasons for writing the book: she wants to eliminate the stigma around depression and explain what depression and treatment felt like for her. It makes for rough reading, but it’s also fascinating to hear about the experimental trial and her positive response to it.
The Valedictorian of Being Dead by Heather B. Armstrong
Gallery Books, April 23, 2019
Disclosure: I received a review copy.
Ms. Wordopolis Reads 
Personally, I think it’s a very good thing that mental health issues are staring to be discussed, as they should be, without the stigma so often associated with them. That can only help us as a society, in my opinion. And this sounds like an informative as well as thoughtful account.