Chapter 1's leap into Sarajevo had me. Chapter 2's first expressions of adolescent depression put me off, and I thought I was going to hate this book (and its author) as another self-centered, whine-fest, but there was a drama there that kept me reading. By chapter 3 I had surrendered to Mr. Falk's story, and I eventually succumbed to Mr. Falk's charms as an author. At least until I started writing this review.

"Hello to All That..." is harrowing, humorous, and compelling, but it also seems a bit glib in a made for TV sense. There's a need to entertain that subtly subverts the power of the story. "Hello to All That..." is a crisis memoir that addresses the search for self in the midst of profound depression, and the redemption of "cure" through drug therapy, and release from self. It's a privileged child's coming-of-age memoir that reminded me that privilege is not necessarily protection, and hardship is only romantic to the detached observer. It's also a war story in which the scenes played out in ways that added to a dramatic made for TV feel.

My other problems with the book were in its alternating chapter strategy which caused a wrench in flow, and I wonder that Mr. Falk or his editors weren't able to develop smoother transitions; and the author's admission that the chronology was altered for dramatic impact. The chronological tinkering is the larger problem. I don't know if that's fair in a memoir, and given the recent controvery with James Frey's, "A Million Little Pieces," it's tricky ground to be walking on. Mr Falk's desire to create drama may also have something to do with the "let me entertain you," feel I got from the book. The admission is admirable, but I find it troubling nonetheless.

"Hello to All That..." was a good read, in the moment, but quite problematic on reflection. As a "read" I'm giving it three stars, as a memoir I'd only give it two.

I could not put this book down. I have struggled with depression for years. There is no book that explains depression more believably - Falk's feeling that life has no meaning echoes how I have felt for most of my life. He is the voice for the most cynical of all of us.

The main thing that made it a brilliant piece was what he gave us in the end. Throughout the book, I was hoping for a giant piece of insight to pull me out of my own despair. About 3/4's through, he talks to the wise man who has seen it all in war-ravaged Bosnia. The guy responds with something like "Love is the answer." My heart started sinking as I almost predicted what was going to happen. He was going to take the wise man's advice and return to America, with renewed appreciation for the family that loves him. I thought: While this is a great ending for Falk, it leaves the rest of us in the lurch. What about the 'Roberts' out there who don't have anyone? Then, the wedding bells chime and it feels like there will be no answer. But just before the book closes, he drops a line: "Not one soul in that my [wedding] backyard did I meet while I was depressed."

So his message is powerfully clear: Depression can really destroy a life, so that one ends up completely alone.

I really think part of his remission is due to a combination of things - how his life was enriched by his experiences, but most of all that he is now surrounded by people that love him. I strongly got the feeling that he never really "recovered" until he found himself no longer "on the edges of other people's lives", but happily married. But in order to get there, he had to get on the antidepressants, which gave him the umph he needed to gain some new experiences. Perhaps those experiences enriched him as a person so that he was able to more successfully connect with other people. For man is a social animal, and without that sense of belonging most of us feel adrift and alone.

The biggest piece of wisdom I gathered from Falk's piece is to what extent depression CAUSES life to go bad, rather than the other way around. For he found hard evidence in the fact that there are HAPPY people in a war-torn country. Unthinkable. While external circumstances can certainly destroy, he provided a clue to those of us who are hurting in spite of all the advantages. His non-condescending, measured tone will go a long way to make you feel validated if you are suffering from depression.