News Release

San Francisco - Andrew Solomon, winner of the 2001 National Book Award for Non-Fiction for his work The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, will speak at the San Francisco Main Library on Thursday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. The event, which is part of the National Book Foundation Gold Medal Tour sponsored by global financial and media company Bloomberg, will be held in the Koret Auditorium.

The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact the malady has had on various demographic populations around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness.

Mr. Solomon’s reading is a prelude to the National Book Foundation’s May celebration of National Book Month. Adults, teens and children will celebrate National Book Month by attending literary events at libraries, schools and bookstores.

All programs and exhibits at the Library are free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, please call (415) 557-4277.