The Valedictorian of Being Dead

The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live

Heather B. Armstrong

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501197062
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies

From New York Times bestselling author and blogger Heather B. Armstrong comes an honest and irreverent memoir—reminiscent of the New York Times bestseller Brain on Fire —about her experience as the third person ever to participate in an experimental treatment for depression involving ten rounds of a chemically induced coma approximating brain death. For years, Heather B. Armstrong has alluded to her struggle with depression on her website, dooce. It's scattered throughout her archive, where it weaves its way through posts about pop culture, music, and motherhood. In 2016, Heather found herself in the depths of a depression she just couldn't shake, an episode darker and longer than anything she had previously experienced. She had never felt so discouraged by the thought of waking up in the morning, and it threatened to destroy her life. For the sake of herself and her family, Heather decided to risk it all by participating in an experimental clinical trial. Now, for the first time, Heather recalls the torturous eighteen months of suicidal depression she endured and the month-long experimental study in which doctors used propofol anesthesia to quiet all brain activity for a full fifteen minutes before bringing her back from a flatline. Ten times. The experience wasn't easy. Not for Heather or her family. But a switch was flipped, and Heather hasn't experienced a single moment of suicidal depression since. "Breathtakingly honest" (Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author), self-deprecating, and scientifically fascinating, The Valedictorian of Being Dead brings to light a groundbreaking new treatment for depression. The Valedictorian of Being Dead was previously published with the subtitle "The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live."

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Prologue
• Chapter One: Calling All Angels
• Chapter Two: I Only Have Two Hands
• Chapter Three: The Michael Jackson Drug
• Chapter Four: Just How Badly Do You Want to Be Dead
• Chapter Five: No Memories, No Dreams, No Light at the Other End
• Chapter Six: Marathon Training for Beginners
• Chapter Seven: Notifications to the Nervous System
• Chapter Eight: License and Registration, Please
• Chapter Nine: The Lie of a Suicidal Ideation
• Chapter Ten: A Bowl of Chips and Salsa
• Chapter Eleven: Plenty of Fish
• Chapter Twelve: Dear Family and Friends
• Chapter Thirteen: A Needle into the Perfect Groove
• Chapter Fourteen: Melting Snow
• Chapter Fifteen: In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen
• Chapter Sixteen: On Behalf of Loved Ones Long Passed
• Chapter Seventeen: Into the Inner Sanctum
• Chapter Eighteen: Weekly Sunday Panic Attack
• Chapter Nineteen: The Final Hours of Summer Camp
• Chapter Twenty: My Calling
• Epilogue
• Afterword
• Author’s Note
• Acknowledgments
• Reading Group Guide
• About the Author
• Copyright