Depression and How to Survive it

Spike Milligan reveals the dark side of his life in this book which is co-written with his psychiatrist Anthony Clare. He recalls the triumphs of his childhood, his highly-strung mother, his largely absent father, the cruelties of a colonial upbringing and of sadism towards animals, the break-up of his first marriage, the mortar bomb which blew him up in Italy and the overwork which gave him a mental breakdown during the Goon Show. This book charts the development of this depression and his strategies for dealing with this illness whether they were improvised, as in when he would get drunk with Peter Sellers, and clinically with his discussions with Clare. Spike Milligan's previous books include "Silly Verse for Kids" and "Where have all the Bullets Gone?". Anthony Clare is the author of "Psychiatry and General Practice" and presents the BBC Radio series, "In the Psychiatrist's Chair".