In Practice

On the question of new antidepressants and suicide, the evidence we have has been synthesized, and the results are in: the medications prevent suicides in adults, and especially in the elderly. For children and adolescents, we simply don't know - and the gap in our knowledge has had dangerous effects. Read More

What a dear and rewarding companion John Updike has been. As a teenager, I must have come across a story of two of his in the New Yorker, but my first substantial encounter came in the summer of 1966, when The Centaur was assigned as reading for incoming Harvard and Radcliffe freshmen. Odd, to begin with a book that was more programatic, with its correspondences to classical mythology, and more awkardly autobiographical than Updike's other work. I moved on to Couples when it appeared in 1968, again perhaps an unfortunate introduction, Updike stretching awkwardly in the direction of the best-seller list. But however imperfect,these encounters were captivating enough. From then on, I read the novels and story collections as they appeared. I backfilled, too, seeking out the early work. Read More

As I did with yesterday's posting, I apologize in advance for distraction from the main event - today, the glorious inauguration. (Did anyone else find Reverend Joseph Lowery's benediction to be the sentimental high point? Read More

A milestone was reached toward the end of last year, and the press made no note of it. In October, the World Health Organization declared that now, among all the illnesses and forms of injury it measures, "depression is the leading cause of years lost due to disability." Read More