"Moving, poetic, cogent and honest." — Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon An intimate study of depression that draws on personal experience and a deep knowledge of philosophy—perfect for fans of Maggie Nelson and Leslie Jamison The Limits of My Language is both a razor-sharp analysis of depression and a steadfast search for the things great and small—from philosophy and art to walking a dog or sitting quietly with a cat—that make our lives worth living. Much has been written about the treatment of depression, but relatively little about its meaning. In this strikingly original book, Eva Meijer weaves her own experiences and the insights of thinkers from Freud to Foucault and Woolf into a moving and incisive evocation of the condition. Depression is more than a chemical problem—the questions that occupy someone with depression are fundamentally human, and they touch on other philosophical questions that concern language, autonomy, power relations, loneliness, and the relationship between body and mind. But this book-length essay is also about the other side, such as animals, trees, others, art: about consolation, and hope, and the things that can give life meaning. The Limits of My Language explores how depression can make us grow out of shape over time, like a twisted tree, how we can sometimes remould ourselves in conversation with others, and how to move on from our darkest thoughts.
Author
Born in 1980, Eva Meijer is an artist, writer, philosopher and singer-songwriter. She works in different media, ranging from performance art, music theatre, installations, video's, drawings and photographs to toys for pigs. Eva released four albums and two EP's, and she played concerts in The Netherlands, England and the US (NYC, Texas, California). More information and music can be found here. Her first novel Het schuwste dier (Prometheus) was published in 2011 and was nominated for the Academica Literatuurprijs, the Gouden Boekenuil and the Vrouw&Proza DebuutPrijs. Short stories and poems have been published in Dutch and Belgian literary magazines, such as De Revisor, Tirade and De Brakke Hond. Her second novel Dagpauwoog was published in November 2013. Eva is working on a PhD project in philosophy, titled 'Political Animal Voices', at the University of Amsterdam. She also has a weblog (in Dutch, but with drawings and photographs) and she plays many shows.
