depression's dark wood

For those who have dwelt in depression's dark wood, and known its inexplicable agony, their return from the abyss is not unlike the ascent of the poet, trudging upward and upward out of hell's black depths and at last emerging into what he saw as "the shining world." There, whoever has been restored to health has almost always been restored to the capacity for serenity and joy, and this may be indemnity enough for having endured the despair beyond despair.
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.And so we came forth, and once again beheld the stars.
-William Styron 1925-2006Darkness Visible (and Dante quote)
http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/proper7c.html