Breaking Best

Breaking Through Depression

David Robson | Guardian | 10th September 2023

Recent research suggests that there is no clear evidence for the theory that depression is caused by a "chemical imbalance" in the brain. The two books reviewed here offer alternative explanations. It could be "a stress response that has run awry" that leads to "total-body illness" felt in the mind. Another expert proposes that the source is in a malfunctioning immune system (1,330 words)


The Best Ukrainian Literature

Chenxin Jiang | Five Books | 5th September 2023

Ukrainian academic offers a wide-ranging reading list for those curious about her country's literature. It encompasses the work of late 19C writer Lesya Ukrainka, who is "at the very top of the national canon" for writing in Ukrainian while the language was banned by Russia, as well as a memoir from 2020 by a journalist about his time in a concentration camp in occupied Donetsk (3,100 words)


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