Ted Scheinman — Jolt: My Electric Journey Out of Darkness - with Dan Kois — at The Wharf
Ted Scheinman discusses *Jolt: My Electric Journey Out of Darkness*, a memoir about living with recurring depression, undergoing electroconvulsive therapy, and finding a way back to happiness. The book combines emotional honesty with humor as it examines family, identity, memory, romantic relationships, and the sacrifices involved in choosing life and recovery.
Scheinman will appear in conversation with Dan Kois. The event is presented by Politics and Prose at its Wharf location and includes first-come, first-served seating.
When: November 24, 2026
Showtime: 7:00pm
Venue: Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 610 Water St SW, Washington, DC 20024
Tickets: Free
Seating: First come, first served.
Featured author: Ted Scheinman is a senior editor at *Smithsonian* magazine and a contributing editor at the *Los Angeles Review of Books*. He is also the author of *Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan*. His journalism and essays have appeared in *The New York Times*, *GQ*, *The Atlantic*, *The New Republic*, *The Paris Review*, and *Slate*. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife.
Conversation partner: Dan Kois is a longtime editor and podcaster at *Slate* and the author of seven books. His essay collection *Where Is the Light Coming From* is forthcoming in the spring. He lives in Arlington with his family.
About the book: Scheinman recounts growing up in an unusually educated, artistic, and eccentric family as the son of a doctor and an English professor. As a child and young adult, he wrote and performed while concealing his depression behind an outward appearance of happiness. He documented his struggles in tragicomic journals and pursued intellectual and professional success at Hotchkiss, Yale, and as a journalist, but his depression repeatedly returned.
About the treatment: After a series of severe emotional collapses, Scheinman was hospitalized in a Washington, DC, psychiatric ward at age 35 and began an intensive course of electroconvulsive therapy, a controversial treatment often viewed as a last resort. He credits ECT with saving his life, while also describing the significant memory loss that followed.
Themes: The memoir considers how families shape identity, the balance between innate character and life circumstances, the consequences of memory loss, and what people may be willing to give up for the possibility of recovery and a renewed place in the world.
Accessibility: To request accommodations or ask about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com. Requests are ideally submitted at least one week before the event, though the venue will make an effort to accommodate requests made up until the event.