-From THE INFERNO OF DANI'E, Robert Pinsky, trans.'Midway in my life's journey, "way closed" again, this
time with a ferocity that felt fatal: I found myself in the dark
woods called clinical depression, a total eclipse of light and
hope. But after I emerged from my sojourn in the dark and
had given myself several years to absorb its meaning, I saw
how pivotal that passage had been on my pilgrimage toward
selfhood and vocation. Though I recommend it to no one-
and I do not need to, for it arrives unbidden in too many
livesdepression compelled me to find the river of life hidden
beneath the ice.
Still, I was unable to write about my depression for a very
long time; what I learned and how I learned it remained raw
to the touch. Then I was invited to contribute to a journal on
the theme of the "wounded healer" in memory of Henri
Nouwen, who was my mentor and my friend. If I were to
honor Henri's life in a manner true to his spirit, I had no
choice but to write about my own deepest wound.
Henri himself spent time on the dark side of the moon,
and he talked and wrote openly about it.' But during the
years when lie and I saw a great deal of each other, I rarely
spoke to him about my own darkness; even in his gracious
presence, I felt too ashamed. I am no longer ashamed, but I