Kathleen Norris battles 'the demon of acedia'

We have a vast palette of words that attempt to express our downcast moods -- "a funk," "the blues," "the doldrums." All of them abstractions, euphemisms we employ in an effort to pinpoint something elusive -- a sensation that might be a shade less than depression but still has weight, the power to hem us in, to alter our picture of the world.

By Lynell George

September 21, 2008