J.K. Rowling's Potter depression

Jul 26, 2007, 11:40 GMT

Author J.K. Rowling attends a news conference before a charity reading event in New York-REUTERS/Mike Segar

J.K. Rowling sank into a deep depression after completing the final 'Harry Potter' book.

The Scottish author went into mourning when she finished the boy wizard's seventh adventure, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows', ending the hugely popular series.

She told NBC's Meredith Vieira: "The first two days were terrible. I was incredibly low.

"I was mourning the loss of this world that I had written about for so long and loved so much. I was also mourning the retreat it had been from ordinary life, which it has been.

"It forced me to look back at 17 years of my life and remember things. I went through the birth of three children, two serious bereavements and a marriage break-up. It was very much linked to my mother dying. But there were lots of happy memories as well. This big long passage from my life is now rounded off."

The 41-year-old writer - who turns 42 next Tuesday (31.07.07) - also confessed she burst into tears when she completed chapter 34 of the 36 chapter book, which sees Harry walk into the forest to confront his nemesis Voldemort.

She said: "I didn't cry as I was writing, but when I finished writing, I had enormous explosion of emotion, and I cried and cried and cried."

Rowling says it took a whole week for her to get over the loss of the magical world she created.

She explained: "I woke up on kind of day eight and felt actually quite light, light-hearted, and thought, 'I can write whatever I like. And the pressure's off.' And it's not as though Harry's gone from my life, because he will always be in my life."

(C) BANG Media International