Although people have long used writing to work through painful moods, research shows that writing can also ease emotional trauma and symptoms of depression. In Writing through the Darkness, Elizabeth Maynard Schaefer presents a menu of approaches-freewriting, memoir, poetry, and storytelling-to help us cope with the anguish, confusion, and stigma associated with depression. Schaefer provides extensive exercises, inspirational prompts, supportive instruction, and current mental health information, while members of her creative writing program for people with mood disorders offer encouraging perspectives and samples of their work. Requiring only paper, pen, and a willing mind, this sensitive guide outlines a new means to modulate mood, develop greater insight, and feel a renewed sense of accomplishment and vitality.