In his new memoir How Depression Saved My Life, media entrepreneur and storyteller Chude Jideonwo shares for the first time, details of the darkest moment of his life which is the day he almost took his own life on Lagos’s Eko Bridge. The memoir, published by Narrative Landscape Press (publisher of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Femi Otedola), spans 2014 to 2024 and traces a decade‑long journey through success, mental illness and healing. From running a presidential campaign to rebuilding a life of purpose through WithChude.
“For a long time, I had dealt with a troublesome twitching on my right side, one that could turn very bad at times and got worse with any physical pain or discomfort,” Jideonwo writes. “To deal with that at the same time as I was dealing with depression, felt unbearable.”
After years of misdiagnosis, he was finally informed by doctors that his symptoms were linked to Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder he had unknowingly lived with since childhood. The chapter titled ‘Suicidal’ details the moment his depression, the medication’s side‑effects, and a profound sense of hopelessness collided.
“Then one day, coming back from Lagos Island to Lagos Mainland, as I drove along the familiar Eko Bridge, the weight suddenly became unbearably heavy. I was driving and I slowed the car down. I moved to the right lane and slowed down even more almost as if I didn’t want to keep moving anymore. In fact, I didn’t want to keep going anymore.” “I don’t remember what made me do this, but I suddenly looked to my right, at the vast body of water that is the Atlantic Ocean and immediately, some peace came upon me.”
“I wondered what it would feel like to drive the car off the bridge just for a brief moment or for eternity to stop feeling this terrible weight.” “Then came a terrifying coolness. The world no longer scared me. Everything finally made sense and I knew just what to do.” That day and the decision to keep going became the turning point of his life.
In the book, Jideonwo reflects on how that near‑suicidal moment eventually transformed into a mission to build platforms that turn pain into power from WithChude and WithChude Live to Joy Inc. and the Fourthmainland Creator Fund. The memoir interlaces his personal battles with depression and Tourette’s syndrome with insights on faith, therapy, philosophy, and the healing power of storytelling.
“It tells the story of how after the high of the Buhari campaign in 2015 and the Akufo‑Addo campaign in 2016, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and then Tourette’s syndrome, contemplated suicide in the middle of incredible pain, quit my job as CEO of RED, decided to relocate to America, changed my mind on relocation and returned to Nigeria and three years after, emerged from the wilderness with WithChude,” Jideonwo said in an Instagram post announcing the book.
“If you’re going through a terrible, difficult or confusing moment in your life and you don’t know how to survive it, this book will teach not only how to survive it, but also show you exactly how to transform it into joy. It is a practical, vulnerable guide to how I took the biggest adversities in my life and turned them into the greatest joy.”
With unsparing honesty and delicate prose, How Depression Saved My Life gives voice to an experience rarely spoken about in Nigerian public life, the intersection of mental illness, ambition and faith. It is both a confession and a map: a story of breaking down and finding wholeness again.
How Depression Saved My Life is now available in bookstores across Nigeria on NarrativeLandscape.com and worldwide on Amazon.
About the Author
Chude Jideonwo is host of WithChude, one of Africa’s watched talk shows and WithChudeLive, Africa’s biggest talk concert. A lawyer, filmmaker and media entrepreneur. He is co-founder and former chief executive of African media companies RED | For Africa Joy Inc. and YNaija. Working across 21 African countries advising presidents and presidential elections in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
He has been a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, CNBC Young Business Leader of the Year, an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow, a World Fellow at Yale University and Creative-In-Residence at the London School of Economics. In 2020, he launched WithChude, a viral podcast and multi-platform talk show featuring intimate, transformative conversations with African leaders and celebrities.
Syndicated on three Pan-African networks, streamed on withChude.com, multiple views on YouTube, it has become one of the continent’s largest IP libraries for stories of healing, resilience and growth. In 2025, he announced the Fourthmainland Fund, with which he is personally investing $500,000 in African creators as the future of independent media on the continent.
His writing and work have been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, and The Financial Times. His latest book, ‘How Depression Saved My Life’ is published by Narrative Landscape.
BellaNaija is a Media Partner for Chude Jideonwo
