Chapter 1 Summary

Darkness Visible is the brief memoirs of William Styron's descent into depression. At the time of Styron's diagnosis in 1985, antidepressant medication had not yet been released and psychiatrists often felt impotent to fully understand the illness. This book is an internal exploration into one man's psychological journey and the struggle against an almost unbeatable enemy.

Styron's story begins in October of 1985 in Paris where the author has a flashback to the spring of 1952 when he was a young man, new to Paris, and staying in the Hotel Washington. The sight of this hotel from a car window on this night almost thirty-five years later makes Styron feel that he has gloomily come full circle. At that moment, Styron feels certain that he will never again see Paris.

Styron has come to Paris this time to attend an award ceremony where he will receive...