‘Extremely engaging... A book full of good moments and humane insights.’ Alan Ryan, Observer

Churchill's 'Black Dog' is widely believed to have been an inborn tendency towards prolonged and despairing depression. In this, the first book-length study of all the available biographical evidence, some of which has never before been published, the truth emerges as significantly less grave than legend has it, but more psychologically complex.

'Extremely engaging... A book full of good moments and humane insights.' Alan Ryan, Observer

'I Had a Black Dog says with wit, insight, economy and complete understanding what other books take 300 pages to say. Brilliant and indispensable.' - Stephen Fry 'Finally, a book about depression that isn't a prescriptive self-help manual. Johnston's deftly expresses how lonely and isolating depression can be for sufferers. Poignant and humorous in equal measure.' Sunday Times There are many different breeds of Black Dog affecting millions of people from all walks of life. The Black Dog is an equal opportunity mongrel. It was Winston Churchill who popularized the phrase Black Dog to describe the bouts of depression he experienced for much of his life. Matthew Johnstone, a sufferer himself, has written and illustrated this moving and uplifting insight into what it is like to have a Black Dog as a companion and how he learned to tame it and bring it to heel.

This is a specially formatted fixed layout ebook that retains the look and feel of the print book. Millions of people will suffer from depression at some stage in their life. When the Black Dog comes to live with them, it also moves in with their loved ones - who may not have the tools to help support the sufferer while looking after their own wellbeing. Living With A Black Dog is Matthew and Ainsley Johnstone's illustrated, must-have guide for the partners, family, friends and colleagues of depression sufferers. It includes practical advice about recognising the symptoms of depression in a loved one, living with a depressed person and helping them to tame their Black Dog. Matthew and Ainsley also provide tips on self-preservation for carers, so they don't come to adopt a Black Dog of their own. A companion book to I Had a Black Dog, Living With A Black Dog is a moving, thoughtful and often amusing guide for people living with someone who suffers from depression.

July 1964. Chartwell House, Kent: Winston Churchill wakes at dawn. There’s a dark, mute “presence” in the room that focuses on him with rapt concentration. It’s Mr. Chartwell. Soon after, in London, Esther Hammerhans, a librarian at the House of Commons, goes to answer the door to her new lodger. Through the glass she sees a vast silhouette the size of a mattress. It’s Mr. Chartwell. Charismatic, dangerously seductive, Mr. Chartwell unites the eminent statesman at the end of his career and the vulnerable young woman. But can they withstand Mr. Chartwell’s strange, powerful charms and his stranglehold on their lives? Can they even explain who or what he is and why he has come to visit? In this utterly original, moving, funny, and exuberant novel, Rebecca Hunt explores how two unlikely lives collide as Mr. Chartwell’s motives are revealed to be far darker and deeper than they at first seem.

This memoir was first published in 1930 and describes the author's school days, his time in the Army, his experiences as a war correspondent and his first years as a member of Parliament.