For those of you who don’t know, JK Rowling, the massively successful writer of the Harry Potter series has depression. Even after the fame and fortune of her first two books, Rowling struggled with the cold, numbing pain I know all too well. By the time she finished her third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Rowling created a living symbol of her depression: the dementor.
And how fitting a symbol. Just read this:
“Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them… Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself… soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.“-Description of Dementors
That last sentence perfectly describes depression. Well, the happy experiences are there, but you can’t ever think of them. It’s as if something is blocking them out.
Regardless, there’s something that can be said for JK Rowling’s terrifying creatures. They are a literary beauty, dark and evil, but in a way that all authors should envy. And it all came from a place of immense pain. Pain is power. Why not use it?
He Who Wanders 