 Through the connections he draws between his own experience with depression and that of the public figures he analyzes, Styron deduces that people with creative tendencies are ultimately more vulnerable to the disorder.Styron also suggests alcohol withdrawal and benzodiazepine use as possible causes of his depression.Upon learning of the significant amount of criticism and ignorance directed towards the suicide of Primo Levi, Styron wrote an op-ed for "The New York Times" in December 1988, maintaining that Levi ended his life not because of a lack of morality, but because of a real, dangerous illness that threatened the health and lives of many people.