While wide awake in the middle of the night (welcome to menopause ), Amy Ferris began chronicling every one of her funny, sad, hysterical, down and dirty, and raw to the bones stories. Along with fantasizing about marrying George Clooney, Ferris is faced with a plethora of other insomnia-induced thoughts and activities. From googling old boyfriends to researching obscure and fatal diseases on the web; from scouting five-star spa destinations to having angry, bitter, e-mail exchanges with her brother. She worries endlessly about her husband, relies heavily on Ambien, and tries to arrange care...

A backbone to replace your wishbone, this is a bold directive to give yourself a second chance, to live out loud, to live juicy, to forgive your messy past, and to have enough moxie to finally say yes to your life . ....because moxie is magic. Moxie is soul food, a life-condition, a spirit, an energy, and it is full-on contagious. The minute you start sprinkling some of it around, everyone wants it. The world needs magic makers, moxie, and you. Period. Beginning of Story.

The silent epidemic of depression affects millions of people and takes dozens of lives everyday, while our culture grapples with a stigma against open discussion of mental health issues. Editor Amy Ferris has collected these stories to illuminate the truth behind that stigma and offer compassion, solidarity, and hope for all those who have struggled with depression.
Contributors to Shades of Blue include:

• Barbara Abercrombie
  
• Sherry Amatenstein
  
• Regina Anavy
  
• Chloe Caldwell
  
• Jimmy Camp
  
• Debra LoGuercio DeAngelo
  
• Marika Rosenthal...