Dark Blue: The Despair Behind the Glory – My Journey Back from the Edge

by Shane Carthy

I wasn't living anymore, I was just surviving From a young age, Shane Carthy had an amazing talent for sport. He quickly rose up through the ranks of Dublin football, playing on an All Ireland-winning team at the age of eighteen. In the midst of all of this success, he increasingly suffered from severe bouts of depression, hiding this from his family and all around him. For two long years, as he triumphed on the football field, he suffered through constant mental turmoil. With searing honesty, he tells of his journey through deepest depression, leading him to become hospitalised at nineteen years old, and how he learned to overcome his troubles and to love life again.

240 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2021

Reviews

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read more like a blog. Felt that Shane held back some of his experience for example, reasons for his spiral into depression that he uncovered in his therapy sessions. There were also some grammatical errors in the book, disappointing from O'Briens publishers that it wasn't properly proofread. However, Shane is a very courageous young man and in sharing his story I am sure he will help many more people feeling the same.

[gerard brangan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full marks to Shane for taking on such a challenging and important topic at such a young age: his struggles and successes will undoubtedly serve to illuminate the road ahead for many in our society.

[Shane Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair play to the author opening up about his mental health and recovery plan. I did find the first 100pgs a struggle but the book got alot better and more succinct from chapter 5 on. Sadly the book omitted the 2 tier society in Ireland today between those in the GAA cult and everyone else. Access to a very strong gaa dominated support network whether that be during college, or finding employment and fast tracking to private mental health and top psychologists.

[Ger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes the authors experience with depression in a relatable way. It would be helpful to anyone who suffers from depression and their families. It tries to dispel the stigma often associated with this condition. There are some sloppy mistakes in the writing and a bit too much repetition in some instances. This should have been picked up by the editor.

[Shane Mulcahy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent read. Shane Carthy has a story to tell and he does so in an engaging and eloquent manner. The only reason I haven't given this book five stars is that it contains some poor grammatical errors. The publisher should have made sure it was proofread.

[Ciara Naughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't put this book down, from start to finish, I was nose deep in this book. From the style of writing to the brutal honesty... this book has enlightened me on mental health and Shane's struggles.

[Aiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudos to Shane for sharing his experiences of his different episodes of depression.