I began seeing Jesse a year after his mother’s death. He and his father, Arthur, had managed together for a while, grief-stricken, but then Jesse began to present an interesting puzzle for those around him. In many ways he was doing incredibly well with friends and in school, but every four to six weeks he became angry very quickly about something that didn’t warrant such an outburst. Those around him didn’t know what this meant and were worried that Jesse was becoming depressed, or even worse, becoming manic, the illness his mother had struggled with, or that maybe he simply found the loss of his mother too much to take. …

Characteristic of many younger children, Jesse could not put feelings into words but would show loss, pain, and anger through his gestures. (166-167)

This passage was taken from When a Parent is Depressed, a book written for families facing depression. When a Parent is Depressed is published by Little, Brown, and Company and can be purchased at your local bookstore, through the publisher’s website (www.twbookmark.com), or at any major online book retailer.