Brie, author of the profile here. Funny you mention Art of Doing Science and Engineering. There was a footnote to You and Your Research in an early draft but it hit the cutting room floor in edits. (Also, I helped get Stripe Press off the ground–including tracking down rights to Art of Doing Science and Engineering–so it warms my heart to hear that's how you first came to the essay/speech).
Thanks everyone for reading and sharing thoughts. I expected responses would fall along these lines and I had my qualms about posting at all (which I mention in the piece). Ultimately, after lots and lots of feedback and contemplation, I decided that, on the balance, it would be probably be more helpful than hurtful to post. And I'm glad I did.
To address the questions about whether it is fair, or accurate (whatever that means), to characterize my state as depression, I can say that 1/I was formally diagnosed by a clinician 2/ I was severely suicidal (though it would have require a close read to have picked that up) and 3/this clinician and I were seriously exploring hospitalization. My depression was and is not chronic.
I am well-aware depression looks different for everyone and was clear about representing anyone else's experience in the post. I don't mean to be snarky, but I would hope that after all this time on the internet, encountering all kinds of people in all kinds of places, we might be able to grasp the diversity, variation, and nuance in the human experience. I think it's worth reflecting on whether or not you believe someone else's experience has to match your own in order to have validity.
Most importantly, though, my heart goes out to any and all people who are hurting, in any way shape or form.