We have a copy of ZEST: Climbing from Depression to Philosophy to give away!
Author: Daniel Kalderimis
ZEST Climbing from Depression to Philosophy: RRP $39.99 Published by: Ugly Hill Press
“Typically, our signposts from depression point towards wellness. But being forced to grapple with how to feel better led me to reflect on what it would mean to live better… I needed a different kind of conversation, which is what this book attempts. In it, I explain how I connected the differing perspectives which came my way to provide a ladder out of a dark hole and back into the sunlight. I offer my story to others also searching, not only for wellness, but for meaning.”
ZEST is a personal account of how we can seek meaning and joy by facing and accepting our imperfections. Daniel, a Wellington King’s Counsel, describes his journey of depression with humour, wisdom, and philosophy – he sought more than wellness platitudes to manage these struggles. His book connects strands of philosophy from Stoicism and Buddhism, and draws from writing by George Eliot and Iris Murdoch.
This is not a manual for how to ‘get well’. It’s for the many people in careers like Daniel, the high-fliers and the driven who don’t stop to smell the flowers, then hit the wall and wonder how to get over that wall.
Daniel’s book can help see there is no ‘cure’ such as, that they need to embrace this part of them to understand they can still live an enjoyable and successful life. Life is not all about running for the next prize, because what comes after that? Another prize? And then another? And what does that make you, in the end?
Daniel Kalderimis as a leading barrister who lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. He has lived in New York and London, taught at Columbia University, and practises internationally. With degrees in law, English and philosophy, he has always been interested in unravelling the layers of meaning behind ordinary things. This book is about what happened when that search, in his own life, became pressing rather than a pastime.