Book · 2001
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
by Andrew Solomon
Andrew Solomon spent a decade interviewing depressives, doctors, and shamans to write the book that redefined how the English-speaking world talks about depression.
What does Reddit think of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression?
Two mentions across seven years is not a Reddit consensus — it is two people who reached for the same book at different moments. One in r/CPTSD (↑18), paraphrasing Solomon on how the twin pillars of Western psychiatry — pills and talking — crowd out other treatment approaches. One in r/AcademicPsychology (↑6), listing it first in a clinical reading stack alongside Oliver Sacks and Susannah Cahalan. The sentiment on both is neutral in the scoring sense, but neither quote is neutral in tone: r/CPTSD uses Solomon to critique psychiatry's tunnel vision, r/AcademicPsychology treats the book as foundational clinical reading rather than popular science curiosity. It gets cited the way people cite sources: once, precisely, when nothing else will do.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · The limits of Western psychiatric treatment beyond medication and talk therapy
- · Depression as a subject requiring both clinical and personal testimony
- · Cross-cultural and historical frameworks for understanding mental illness
- · The relationship between lived experience and medical authority
Common praise
- + r/AcademicPsychology recommends it first on a clinical reading list, ahead of Oliver Sacks.
- + r/CPTSD users reach for Solomon's framing when they need to articulate exactly what mainstream psychiatry gets wrong.
- + The book gets cited with precision — not as a mood recommendation but as a named source backing a specific argument.
Common criticism
- − Two mentions in seven years suggests the book lives on syllabi and in specialists' hands, not in general Reddit conversation.
- − Neither quote engages with the book as a whole — both pull a single argument, which may mean the 700-page scope discourages casual discussion.
Who it's for
If you are trying to explain to someone why antidepressants and CBT are not the whole picture, this is the book you hand them. Clinicians in r/AcademicPsychology treat it as baseline reading, not optional enrichment. People in r/CPTSD use it to put language around frustrations with treatment that otherwise feel too diffuse to articulate. You don't come to The Noonday Demon for a quick read — you come because you want the most complete account of what depression is, was, and gets treated as across cultures and centuries.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I am paraphrasing here and believe it was attributes to Andrew Solomon (who wrote “The Noonday Demon:An Atlas of Depression” as well as other books), but basically in western medicine the two pillars of psychiatry—pills and talking—are so entrenched in treatment modalities and training that other t…
“Hey I’m the clinical person here so my recommendations are about mental health: 1. The noonday demon- Andrew Solomon (depression) 2. The great pretender- Susannah Cahalan (history of psych) 3. The man who mistook his wife for a hat- Oliver Sacks (neuropathology) 4. The boy who was raised as a do…
Convinced? Pick up The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
What else does r/AcademicPsychology read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression — frequently asked
What does Reddit actually say about The Noonday Demon?+
Very little, and very specifically. Two mentions across seven years — one in r/CPTSD (↑18) using Solomon to critique psychiatry's reliance on pills and talk therapy, one in r/AcademicPsychology (↑6) listing it first on a clinical reading stack. Reddit doesn't debate this book. It gets cited.
Is The Noonday Demon worth reading if I'm not a clinician?+
Depends on what you want from it. The r/CPTSD commenter who scored ↑18 is not a clinician — they used Solomon's argument to articulate something about their own treatment experience. The r/AcademicPsychology recommendation frames it as clinical reading, but the book was written for a general audience. If you want depth over comfort, yes.
How does The Noonday Demon compare to other depression memoirs on Reddit?+
It doesn't get compared — it gets cited. Where Reddit debates books like Darkness Visible or Lost Connections, The Noonday Demon appears as a reference point, not a conversation topic. Both mentions use Solomon to support an argument rather than review the book itself. That's a different kind of authority.
Should I read The Noonday Demon if I already have a therapist and a diagnosis?+
The r/CPTSD commenter (↑18) implies yes — specifically because Solomon documents what falls outside the standard treatment frame. If your therapist works entirely within pills-and-talking, Solomon names what that leaves out. Whether you want that named is a separate question.