Award-winning and bestselling author Andrew Solomon is one of today’s most prolific and respected writers on politics, culture, and psychology.

Throughout his career, he has captivated audiences with cultural stories about overcoming adversity, coping with inherently human struggles, and achieving self-acceptance by using the power of the mind.

A National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist for his book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas for Depression, Solomon discusses his own battle with depression.

“I thought, ‘If I’m going to say that I think there should be less stigma around depression, I have to be ready to talk about my own experience and talk about it as directly as I possibly can,” explained Solomon.

Andrew Solomon: Using the mind to overcome adversity

Bestselling author Andrew Solomon talks about using the power of the mind to overcome adversity.

He also won praise for his elegant writing in Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, which explores themes of generosity, acceptance, and tolerance among parents who are raising exceptional children.

“I really wanted to look at why is it that some families, given a child who is radically different in some way, fall apart and, other families, given a child like that, establish an even greater closeness and intimacy than they might have had otherwise?” Solomon said.

Most recently, Solomon released Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change – a collection of writings that capture the essence of places, around the world, where he’s traveled. In addition, Solomon is an activist for mental health, education, the arts, and LGBTQ rights.

From Fort Worth, Texas, Andrew Solomon joined May Lee in our Los Angeles studio and talked about using the power of the mind to overcome adversity.