A rare glimpse into a mind in acute depression. A true and powerful story!

White smoke is not just another addition to the shelf of novels about the treatment of madness, personality disorder and major depression, but a piercing and thrilling true story read breathlessly. A text that captures the reader’s consciousness with the measured and precise weight of every word and metaphor.

A young woman, supposedly from an “ordinary” home, is committed to a psychiatric ward after swallowing a large amount of pills. She suffers from deep depression, barely talks, hardly communicates. Years after her hospitalization, and having long been emotionally detached, absent, almost non-existent, an exceptional therapist helps her break out of her silence and hiding, talk and speak of her pains and memories, which are the backdrop for her illness. With infinite patience and courage, the therapist helps her be there, present, before him. Meanwhile, the therapist’s clinic stands witness to a kind of miracle, as a rare bond develops between therapist and patient, and emotions, desires and life come back to the fore.

2021 (first pub. 2013) | 280 pp. | English sample | Rights Sold: Hebrew

“A fascinating, painful, thought-provoking and optimistic document about a treatable disease. A rare personal account that treats mental illness with great courage, and allows us, the readers, to share in the pain and sorrow, as well as the intensity of release.” – Carmit Vaits-Sapir, NRG, e-Newspaper

“Tamar Tsoran describes in this beautifully written and sincere novel the gloom and solitude of her depression, as well as her story of recovery thanks to a very wise therapist.” – Neri Livne, Ha’aretz, newspaper

“Tsoran’s book reveals rare courage and is an important document for therapists.” – Prof. Amia Libliech, Hebrew Psychology, psy.org.il.

Tamar Tsoran is a courageous and powerful author. Her writing is accurate, meticulous and prickly. This is her first novel.