On the Couch

In this candid, conversational memoir, actress Lorraine Bracco openly reveals the details of her struggle with depression, the treatment that helped her triumph, and her experience playing psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi on HBO’s The Sopranos—the role that helped to save her life. Here, Lorraine shares the deeply personal story of her spiral into—and back from—the depths of depression; how she finally got the help she needed; her marriages and brutal custody battle; her determination to be a good mother; and her refusal to be marginalized in a society obsessed with youth and beauty.    “I hope my story encourages people to come forward and get the help they need.  I want to help others to do what I did—to let go of the shame and the fear.  When I was depressed, I wallowed in the idea that the best part of my life was over.  I blew it.  I took the wrong path, and this was what I got—what I deserved. Thank God I got help before I went too far down that road. . . .   There’s help. It’s treatable. Getting treatment for depression was the best decision I ever made; going public about it was the second best.”