Brooke Shields Thanks Tom Cruise for Validating Her Book  6/28/05

Hollywood beauty Brooke Shields has thanked Tom Cruise for drawing attention to her book on post-natal depression, after he publicly criticized the actress for using anti-depressants. The former Suddenly Susan beauty suffered postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Rowan and has praised the drug Paxil for helping her to return to a happier state of mind. 

Shields has written about her experiences with the illness in her tell-all Down Came the Rain. Cruise caused controversy last month (MAY05) when he lambasted Shields' "misguided" drug use and asking, "Where has her career gone?", while claiming vitamins would have cured her of her depression, on US TV show Access Hollywood. 

Cruise renewed his argument against prescribed drugs talking to reporter Matt Lauer on the Today show last Friday (24JUN05), saying, "She (Brooke) doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do." Shields is amazed by Cruise's stance that he knows enough about post-natal depression to tell her how to deal with the illness, despite the actor having no first-hand knowledge as he adopted two children with ex-wife Nicole Kidman. 

Shields says, "In many ways, I think he's just validated my book. "Has he had a baby? "Anything that highlights the help available to the thousands of women who suffer is fine by me. "Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women decide what treatment is best."