Product Description
Written with the same graceful narrative voice that made his bestselling National Book Award finalist The Big House such a success, George Howe Colt's November of the Soul is a compassionate, compelling, thought-provoking, and exhaustive investigation into the subject of suicide. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews and a fascinating survey of current knowledge, Colt provides moving case studies to offer insight into all aspects of suicide -- its cultural history, the latest biological and psychological research, the possibilities of prevention, the complexities of the right-to-die movement, and the effects on suicide's survivors.

Presented with deep compassion and humanity, November of the Soul is an invaluable contribution not only to our understanding of suicide but also of the human condition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Five Stars for Academic Readers
If you have a serious academic interest in suicide, this book will help to inform your interest.
Eddie Evans
Crime Scene Cleanup

The Reasons People Kill Themselves - Not An Easy Book To Read
This is a scholarly book about the specifics of what makes some people commit suicide and I concur with another reviewer's warning that this is not a book that celebrates life and it definitely won't make a grieving family member feel better after reading it.

Actually, the book (which has been long out of print) is far more appropriate for academic and professional study and is not recommended for the casual reader.575 pages.

Careful and compassionate treatment of the subject
A great mix of research, analysis, and case study.The author treats the subject of suicide with respect and carries out a thoughtful study that is revealing to those touched with the issue in some regard or even those simply interested in research.There are no over-simplications here and no attempt is made to give haphazard answers to complicated questions.

The text is well-written and well laid out.I would call it an easy read, if not for its poignancy and intensity.

Full of research like information about suicide
This books looks at suicide from a more intellectual research point of view. But after saying that, this book isn't hard to read or crammed full with academic jargon. It definitely enlightened me about suicide. However this isn't the type of book suited for mourning or self-help.

I would recommend this book if anyone wants more information about suicide as a subject.

Powerful, insightful, healing, life changing...
I have faced head on the aftermath of suicide and this book was finally able to bring healing and answers after 10 years of not understanding 'why' and feeling guilty and ashamed.I would not have been able to face the catastrophic grief this book brings to life any earlier than this.This is not for someone in their first years of healing but if you have a suicide in your past or have ever contimplated suicide then read every page.I read every day, and most days had to stop when I couldn't see the words for the tears.But in the end I feel free of the guilt I carried for so long, and understood, and normal again. It's different but a new different.And it's stopped any thought of contagious or genetic suicide from effecting me.Walking through the grief of the surviving families was the most healing, powerful, insightful, life changing experience I've known.
Thank-you George Howe Colt! ... Read more

Product Description
This uniquely designed resource for those left behind after a suicide (loved ones, friends, siblings, and extended family) provides encouraging, practical help and hope. Also includes features designed for SOS support groups, pastors, Christian counselors, and church leaders with the goal of helping the church function more fully as the healing community it could be for the survivors of suicide in its midst. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

"Finding your way....."
I did not read this book, as I sent it to someone, but it was recommnded to me by one who conducts a Grief-Share program at her church.

Finding Your Way after the Suicide of Someone You Love
This month marks the 4th year since my son's death through suicide. He was 23.

This is the only book I read. I decided that my mind was much too tired to read all of the books written on suicide.

Perhaps the most glaring issue for those of us who have faced the suicide of a loved one, is how we could have prevented it. The authors helped me to think in ways I hadn't considered. I felt comforted after reading each chapter.

The book is also helpful in working through the process of grieving regardless of what caused the death of a loved one.

Since I believe we often make life more complicated than it needs to be, this book addresses suicide simply and with compassion, allowing the reader to learn and at the same time be comforted.

Suicides, the most difficult of deaths
"Finding Your Way After the Suicide of Someone You Love" is the most relevant book I have encountered on suicide. As a bereavement coordinator/facilitator in a large church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I occasionally run into suicide situations and this book seems to express what families have shared with me. I believe it captures many emotions/feelings of the person who commits suicide that can explain reasons and perhaps reassure the family to help alleviate some of their guilt. These things can lead to their one day finding peace again.

Best book
This book was extremely helpful to me after the suicide of my youngest son. I would recommend it especially to those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so good that I am buying a copy for another mother who just lost her oldest son to suicide.

Same as all the rest
There are some really good books and then some that just copy the same text as others, this is a copier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

My Son My Son
The best and most helpful book I have ever read on this subject.It has helped me and my family immensely.

the best!!
This book targets those that are left behind. The author, Iris Bolton, whose experience with the suicide of her son led her into finding a way back to life as a survivor. The makings of a survivor are describled in her book in a way that helped me to want to be one of those survivors, and even help others survivor. This is written with compassion and an honesty that so touching, it resounds with the my feelings of grief and hope at the same time. It is not a long book, but the content will stay with you for a long time.

MY SONMYSON
Anyone who has lost anyone by suicide should read this book.
It will help you to know that you are not alone and everything
will get better. It helps you to learn to express your feelings
to those who cared for your love one as well as those who
care for you.

Written by an authoritywho has been there
Written by a mother and counselor, Iris Bolton is also a survivor and triumphant veteran of the most unimaginable grief there could be.Her son died of suicide.She used what she learned in her own grief to help others, especially in the case of the child of a suicide death.The book is an eloquent and well-rounded combination both of the sharing of a broken and questioning heart and the helpful information and resources for others trying to find any light of hope in the tunnel-vision of grief.Packed full of straight-forward honesty and truths, here are a few jewels from the author's troves of wisdom on the subject.

An experienced grief counselor tells Ms. Bolton after her son's death, "There is a gift for you in your son's death.You may not believe it at this bitter moment, but it is authentic and it can be yours if you are willing to search for it.To other eyes it may remain hidden.The gift is real and precious and you can find it if you choose."

Reference to the insensitivity of others at a time of a mourner's greatest sensitivity:"To my amazement, I jerked my arms free. `I'm not ready yet!'Such assertiveness was foreign to my nature but now it was the product of a growing awareness that many others were assuming that they knew what was best for me."And this:"Many loving people who want to help will be giving you advice about what to do.Some will say snap out of it; some will urge you to take it easy; some will say it's God's will.At a time like this, everybody becomes an instant expert.But you do what you want to do.You do what feels right for you.Even if nobody else approves and you still decide for it, you do it."

Regarding the usage of pills and the detrimental effects of numbing the pain that must ultimately be gone through to get through to the other side:"Normal grief is not an emotional illness.It is a process that must be experienced.Sorrow must be accepted and allowed to mature and then, hopefully, be laid aside."

A sample of instructions for ultimate healing:"Cry wherever you are.It is natural and healing.Grief is not something you can bottle up and screw on the cap.That way guarantees future pain and disaster.Instead, throw the cap away, and one day your bottle of pain will be emptied and you may know peace.You will never be the same, you will be different, but you can know joy again."

For those whose beloved died in any way, this book is an excellent help.

If your dealing with guilt,here is the book you need
For all of us who lost a loved one to suicide, we automatically feel guilty for not seeing it coming, or being able to stop it.
Here is a book who's author is a thearpist and her son is in a treatment plan and he succeeds, in his suicide..
Her book helps you see all aspects of suicide, and if possible see how with all our efforts, we couldn't stop it..
It's excellent and my support group all found it extremely helpful.. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This provocative study explores what happens to those who commit suicide. Drawing on communications from the spirits of more than 100 "successful" suicides, it offers an intriguing look at what the dead themselves say about suicide, its repercussions, and their experiences in the afterlife. Bringing together the channeled messages of three types of suicide — traditional suicide, assisted suicide, and the suicide mass murder adopted by terrorists — the book covers a wide range of topics, including why people commit suicide, what it is like to cross over, adjustment problems, what suicides would say to those left behind, and what they would tell others thinking of taking their own lives. Additionally, the book conveys powerful messages from suicide bombers, warning potential terrorists of the serious karmic consequences that await them. For anyone contemplating suicide or euthanasia, the book offers profound, sometimes unsettling, insight into the ramifications of these acts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

The value of channeled messages
The book presents messages from different sources/channels with different messages. Older channels have different answers to the question "What really happens in the afterlife?, than contemporary channels, and there are differences even among them. In the introduction (or somewhere) the authors explore why this is, how channeled messages are influenced by personal opinions of the medium and the culture of the time.

One important reason, perhaps the most important one, why channeled messages are different, even among contemporary ones is this: When a message is communicated (through channeling in this case), the recipient colors/filters that message through his own personality, beliefs, personal history and so on, therefore that same message may have a different meaning to two different recipients. That explains why channeled messages are different and even why two seemingly different messages may in some way have the same essential non-verbal meaning to two different persons reading it.

The best approach to reading channeled messages is to discard those messages that do not resonate with your personality and instead take seriously only messages that - for you - have a spark of truth and leads to personal/spiritual progress. Because of the above, my position is that channeled messages should not be taken literally, rather their purpose is to open up new territory in the mind, both consciously and unconsciosly.

Ofcourse, this perspective complicates matters in that it creates uncertainty regarding what really happens in the afterlife, maybe something entirely different. My view is that what happens the afterlife is highly dependent on personality and spiritual development, even culture and time period.

The strenght in this book lies in its broad spectrum of channels/mediums (although it could well be broader), making it possible for a wide variety of readers to find in it sparks of truth and messages that resonate with their personalities and current personal/spiritual development. I would be interested in reading a similar book with the topic of the ultimate purpose of existance and god.

A 360 degree view from the afterlife
This is not a book about channeling in general, Klimo wrote that book years ago. It addresses a very narrow topic. If you have problems with the idea of channeling, read something else. It also does not promote the Bible or the views of any particular religion. One "reviewer" here, David Olenick, wrote a review "Why not suicide?" After reading the book I found it difficult to believe that he read it.
This book is not a quick read with simple answers. It is an academic work with a balanced approach that includes almost any imaginable slant and point of view.
Most of the channeled sources are suicides, a few are higher sources with a broader view.
The most common denominator is that suicide is escapist and irresponsible behavior.
Instead of working out the problems people were meant to solve they ran away instead.
For assisted suicide from intense pain, the angels will cut you some slack.
About a third of the book concerns suicide bombers. The view from the other side is that such suicides simply compound the sin of suicide with the even worse sin of murder.
The bottom line is, Don't Do It, life does not end, you will have the opportunity to judge yourself later. If you feel too weak to go on call a hotline and ask for help solving your problems.
Well written and researched.

Compelling examination of fascinating research
Klimo, a Ph.D. teacher, author and researcher, and Heath, an M.D., have written a fascinating book about suicide and what may happen on the other side afterward. If you think this is a wild idea, open the book to any page, and you will stop smiling, start reading, and find you are unable to stop. This research suggests that learning and loving may be the point of life, and the book will leave you feeling more committed to those you love, and less anguished about the fate of those you have lost.

The Complete Dream Book, 2nd edition: Discover What Your Dreams Reveal about You and Your Life

Excellent resource book
Suicide: What Really Happens in the Afterlife is well researched, including historical, cultural, spiritual and psychological aspects of both suicide and channeling - for instance, how channeled messages have changed over time as the beliefs of the in-body mediums and society have evolved. It also offers many examples of communication from the interlife for various scenarios (accidental suicide, suicide from depression, from loss, suicide bombings, etc.).As a research and reference guide, it is well worth having. It would be a great first book to have on this topic.

Religion, right or wrong?
I don't know what to think of this book.I have never talked with a spirit so I am not sure about it.I just want to know why when Jesus knew he was going to die that he did nothing to stop it when he could have stopped it.To me that is suicide all the way.Why is it bad for others to do it then? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This book put me in 201 DeWaters......
The author, Gail Griffin, did the unimaginable and put me in room 201 DeWaters Hall on October 17, 1999.

I had heard about this crime in 1999 when it made national news.I imagined how hard this would be for the friends and family of Maggie Wardle.What I couldn't imagine was how it would affect the small Midwestern college, the students (past, present, and future), and staff.

Gail Griffin guides us to "The Events of October" through interviews, records from instant message, and her narration.And even though I knew the nature of the story, I found myself thinking, "dear God Maggie, don't go to his room...." But of course, Maggie was the kind of woman who would go to a friend in need.

The details of this crime were gruesome.VERY. GRUESOME.And a stark contrast to Maggie herself who brought friendship, hope, and love to those around her. Through this story I distinctly feel the absence of Maggie and all that she would have been.We are all victims of the crime committed against her.

This was Maggie's story to be told.I'm glad that Gail Griffin took on the responsibility to see that it was told accurately and completely.I know I will never be the same after learning it.How can there ever be a "Return to Normalcy" after something like this.......

Kelli Stapleton K95 ... Read more

Product Description
This newly revised edition of the book is designed for adult caregivers to read to surviving youngsters following a suicidal death. The story allows individuals an opportunity to recognize normal grieving symptoms and to identify various interventions to promote healthy ways of coping with the death of a special person. Although the language used in the book is simplistic enough to be read along with children and ultimately stimulating family discussion, it can be beneficial to all who have been tragically devastated by suicide. It is recommended for this book to be utilized in conjunction with therapy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Beautifully Written Story
Someone I Love Died By Suicide is a beautifully written and illustrated story that will help a child understand and cope with the loss of a loved one to suicide. The simple and direct language defines suicide and walks the child through the complicated grief process. Crossing 13

Must read for infants to early teens
I bought this book for my daughter who is almost 12yrs old.It looks like a young child's book, but the words are meant for all!Must read for all child survivors of suicide.The book explains that what happened is not the child's fault.Which many children go through a stage of feeling the suicide was their fault.Children need to know from other sources than the ones who love them that it's not their fault - this book does that

What a wonderful resource!!
As a trained psychologist and former Children's Program Coordinator at a local Hospice, I was very pleased to discover this compassionate and supportive book for children who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to suicide. The issue is sensitively handled, and practical and healthy ways of coping are facilitated. A helpful support for families faced with this loss and an INVALUABLE tool for all professionals who work with children and loss. A great resource for school personnel to have on hand as well! ... Read more

Product Description

Suicide is an event that cannot be ignored, minimized, or left untreated. However, all too often mental health professionals and health care practitioners are unprepared to treat suicidal clients. This text offers the latest guidance to frontline professionals who will likely encounter such clients throughout their careers, and to educators teaching future clinicians.

The book discusses how to react when clients reveal suicidal thoughts; the components of comprehensive suicide assessments; evidence-based treatments such as crisis intervention, cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and more; and ethical and legal issues that may arise. Case studies, exercises, quizzes, and other features make this a must-have reference for graduate level courses. An Instructor's Manual is also available with sample syllabi, PowerPoint presentations, and other useful resources.

Key topics:

Product Description
Why do people die by suicide? Thomas E. Joiner and his colleagues attempt to answer this age-old question by exploring two obvious yet insightful assumptions:

-People die by suicide because they can--that is, they become desensitized to pain and habituated toward violence.
-People die by suicide because they want to--they typically have no sense of belonging to a valued group or relationship, and they feel that they have become a burden to loved ones.

This book offers a new theoretical framework for diagnosis and risk-assessment of a patient's entry into the dark and obscure mental world of suicidality, and for the creation of preventive and public-health campaigns aimed at the disorder. More important, though, the book provides new, effective clinical guidelines for crisis intervention and for therapeutic alliances in psychotherapy and suicide prevention. ... Read more

Product Description

Suicide is an event that cannot be ignored, minimized, or left untreated. However, all too often mental health professionals and health care practitioners are unprepared to treat suicidal clients. This text offers the latest guidance to frontline professionals who will likely encounter such clients throughout their careers, and to educators teaching future clinicians.

The book discusses how to react when clients reveal suicidal thoughts; the components of comprehensive suicide assessments; evidence-based treatments such as crisis intervention, cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and more; and ethical and legal issues that may arise. Case studies, exercises, quizzes, and other features make this a must-have reference for graduate level courses. An Instructor's Manual is also available with sample syllabi, PowerPoint presentations, and other useful resources.

Key topics:

Product Description
With this book James Hillman initiated the "soul movement" in psychotherapy forty years ago.

Soul and suicide are dominant issues of this new millenium; soul because it cannot be reduced to genes and chromosomes; suicide because it raises fundamental religious, political, and legal conflicts. As Hillman writes in the postscript to the second edition: "The individual consists of more than his or her personal individuality. Something besides 'myself' inhabits the soul, takes part in its life and has a say in its death . . . We need a . . . definition of self as the interiorization of community. Suicide, literally 'self-killing,' now would mean both a killing of community and involvement of community in the killing."

This new edition is introduced by the eminent psychiatrist and pioneering social critic, Thomas Szasz. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Iconic
Hillman delivers - and like many Jungian writers, he wanders all of soul's territory and Jung's theories. It's provocative and insightful.

Profound and insightful
This is the most influential book I have read regarding clinical practice. After reading it, I was in awe of how anyone can think let alone write so profoundly. It is not just about suicide, but speaks of how experience and developmental transitions shape our existence. Although breathtakingly compassionate and sophisticated regarding the joys and pains of living, I didn't find the content at all sentimental. This book is highly absorbing, frequently moving and extremely original in its perspective on various concepts. Ideas are introduced well, with examples that make it accessible to anyone regardless of their professional or personal reasons for reading "Suicide and the Soul". It can be a challenge in terms of the concepts, beliefs and emotions related to the material as would be expected. I am astounded at the age of this book; given how contemporary its viewpoints are on the matter. There is just as much value in this book to learn more about living and life, as death and suicide. Obviously, I would recommend reading the book.....at least once.

When Nothing Makes Sense
If someone close to you has taken their life, you need to read this book.There are no cliches here.No pap.This is an in- depth report, based on years of study and experience in the field, on the clinical route that ends in suicide and why your intervention may not have made a difference.

Dr. Hillman shows us the path the soul took to the brink and explains why they could not turn back...unless they stood at the edge and chose to turn away.

I have read many books that sought to confort the bereaved.This book allows us, as the tormented survivors, a smidgeon of insight.The kind of insight that makes some sense of the senseless act.I don't know Dr. Hillman, although I certainly read some of his other work after reading this book; but I owe him a dept.This book is a gift.I hope you find it as remarkable as I did. ... Read more

Product Description

There are over 30,000 suicide deaths each year in the United States alone, and the numbers in other countries suggest that suicide as a cause of death will be around for the foreseeable future. A suicide leaves behind more victims than just the individual, as family, friends, co-workers, and the community can be impacted in many different and unique ways following a suicide.  And yet there are very few professional resources that provide the necessary background, research, and tools to effectively work with the survivors of a suicide.

This edited volume addresses the need for an up-to-date, professionally-oriented summary of the clinical and research literature on the impact of suicide bereavement on survivors. It is geared towards mental health professionals, grief counselors, clergy, and others who work with survivors in a professional capacity. Topics covered include the impact of suicide on survivors, interventions to provide bereavement care for survivors, examples of promising support programs for survivors, and developing a research, clinical, and programmatic agenda for survivors over the next 5 years and beyond.

Product Description
Lieberman looks at the cultural meaning of suicide and how it has gone from being seen as subversive to self-destructive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Illuminates a dark and difficult topic
I find it hard to say that a book about suicide is a good read but this diminutive collection of essays about the meaning of suicide made a big impression on me.In the preface to Leaving You: The Cultural Meaning of Suicide, Lisa Lieberman says, "The thread that runs through all [five essays] is my appreciation of self-destruction as a meaningful gesture, a statement that holds more than private significance.A statement, moreover, that is essentially subversive...This book charts the tension between society's interest in restraining suicide's disruptive power and the individual's freedom to determine the meaning of his own death."

While acknowledging that her argument about such a painful topic will make some people uncomfortable, the author succeeds in presenting her views in a nuanced and thoughtful way that always respects the reader's right to think and feel differently.Her interwoven essays exploring different dimensions of self-destruction draw the wary reader's eye with such intriguing titles as "Defiant Death," "Sex and Suicide," and "Death and Democracy."Lieberman says that she intentionally chose the essay format to "allow readers room for their own thoughts."With her deeply felt commitment to the topic, combined with extensive research and a warm narrative voice, she offers readers much more.She creates the intellectual and emotional spaciousness for us to examine our assumptions about and reflect upon our experiences of suicide, whether the act has touched our lives directly - as in her case - or has gained our attention from a distance.

Lieberman's exploration of the meaning of suicide brings to mind another thought provoking book I recently read about the nature of anger.In Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, Carol Tavris argues that anger is not a disease with a single cause, nor is depression simply anger turned inward, as contemporary medical and psychological models of the emotions would have us believe.Instead, anger in its many forms - rage, hatred, violence, chronic resentment - is "a process, a transaction, a way of communicating."Similarly, Lieberman could have named her book Suicide: The Misunderstood Act because she expands our contextual understanding of suicide as something more than an incomprehensible act of individual despair.This isn't to say that she dismisses the advances in neuropsychology that are enabling us to effectively treat depression.Rather, she restores to our current thinking about suicide the notion that self-destruction, contemplated or realized, is an integral aspect of the human condition.

In sum, Lieberman's little book rightly belongs on the bookshelves of every doctor, psychotherapist, medical professor and student as a companion to the clinical tomes on depression and related affective disorders.It also calls out to be read by the many professionals and volunteers committed to the work of suicide prevention, from college administrators to hotline counselors.It may even provide some measure of solace to grieving family and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide. ... Read more

Product Description
"For the individual in the throes of responding to the....suicide of a loved one, this book provides valuable insight into the experience. This kind of cognitive knowledge can actually alleviate suffering by being a reliable guide through the process".---The Theological Educator. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

excellent resource
Ordered several copies to have when needed.Excellent resource for those dealing with suicide of family member or friend.Books arrived quickly and in good condition.

Great resource
I bought this book to share with my brother and sister-in-law after the death of my niece.Although it was written 30 years ago, it seems consistent with current postvention thought.Some readers might need a gentler approach, but this book tells it the way it is and gives survivors the information they need to know.The book had been recommended to me by a counseling professor of mine who had lost her father to suicide, so I had no qualms in getting it for my family.

It will help.
I didn't know what I was getting into when someone suggested I read this. Anyone who is facing a situation of sudden loss will get something out of this quick read. It's easy to read, thought provoking and may settle some of your wonders and fears.

Manditory for survivors
A most helpful book for survivors, counselors, clergy.This book addresses every aspect of the aftermath of a suicide and provides survivors with information they desperately need to cope with this devastating loss.The book is concise, specific, and cuts directly to the issues by which survivors are overwhelmed.I have given copies to several people who needed it and will continue to recommend it.

It did help me.
My son's suicide was 17 years ago.After all of these years I still have my copy although the pages are yellow and full of highlighter.Everyone is different, especially at a time like this but, I do recommend this book.

... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

What do you do when your friend is thinking about suicide?
I often talk to teens who carry the burden of their friends' depression. They perceive parents and teachers as out of touch, so they try to handle each other's depression themselves. This can be stressful and even dangerous. If a friend confides suicidal thoughts and then actually commits suicide, the adolescent may have to deal with severe guilt and remorse.

When I first saw the title of this book, I was afraid that the author was just going to try to train teens to be the primary therapists for their depressed peers. Actually this book is realistic but also quite responsible. It repeatedly warns teens not to keep silent when a friend is suicidal.

This book helps teens recognize the signs of depression and suicidal thoughts in their peers, and suggests ways to help. It also talks about taking care of oneself after a friend has actually committed suicide. It does discuss the importance of going to a responsible adult if a friend is really in trouble.

I often recommend this book.

A little pointless
Being a teen who has been close to suicide many a time, I know from experience that reasons for suicide are plentiful, but finance is a main problem. Why sell a book on how to prevent suicide? To me thats a little bit of a tease. Also... I don't think parents would buy this book, as the symptoms of a suicidal teen are not in great supply. We hide our feelings. Well, thats just my opinion.... An online 'How to prevent suicide' would be much more effective

Proactive and Informative
Unlike many other books on adolescent psychology, this book takes more initiative in teaching teenagers to help each other during tough times. The tips included can be used immediately after reading them, and the authorsstress certain important points repeatedly so that, although they may seemredundant to those who already know them by heart, no one can finish thebook without having them permanently inscribed in their minds. The firstperson point-of-view style taken by the authors when explaining suicidehelps, but not completes, a teenager's understanding of why his or herpeers may consider suicide. There were a few detractions though. Morefundamental information on depression as well as the increasing necessityto consider sexuality and ethnicity as aggravating factors in suicidalteens may have helped. A few sections were over-generalized, but the mostimportant info (such as the "fact or fiction" of suicidalbehavior) were well-covered. Combined with a book on teenage affected (i.e.emotional) disorders, alcohol/narcotics addiction, and/or riskyenvironments (e.g. abusive families, violent neighborhoods, homogenouscommunities), whichever is helpful to the reader, this book can go a longway in reducing the heart-breaking statistics on suicide among youngpeople. A newly revised edition with updated information is eagerlyawaited.

A great resource for all: teens, parents & teachers
Nelson & Galas have put together an excellent book packed full of information such as the myths, facts, risk factors and warning signs as well as how to prevent suicide from happening. This powerful book is gearedtowards teenagers to help each other but it is also an excellent resourceas well for parents, teachers and para-professionals. As a graduate studentin elementary education, I found this book easy to digest and relative tothe issues facing todays teens. As a parent of four girls, my concern inthe prevention of the skyrocketing suicide rate is of utmost importance. AsI read, I was able to recall what life was like as a teenager and the highimportance of some issues to teens of things that I now would think of asminor or temporary. I recommend this book highly for parents, teachers,school nurses as well as any teen (contemplating suicide or not). It is aMUST resource, and should be easily available for all who would benefit.Maybe if more people can understand why teenage suicide happens, we canrecognize the distinguishable warning signs and be more successful inpreventing it. ... Read more

Product Description
The first book of its kind, . . . Or Not to Be offers rare insights into the lives--and deaths--of such luminaries as Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, Diane Arbus, Jim Jones, Anne Sexton, Hermann Goering, Kurt Cobain, and Yukio Mishima, via their last letters and suicide notes.Amazon.com Review
. . . Or Not to Be is described, by its own editor, as"pornography." It's also oddly fascinating, a collection of suicidenotes by the famous, including Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh, DianeArbus, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf. Also included are poignantlast words from the utterly obscure, including an anonymous Siberianwho duly noted that "the snow will cover my footsteps," and a man whowrote "Bow wow and good-bye, Pepper," to his dog. Of particularinterest in the collection are suicide notes by DorothyParker, who survived, and Ken Kesey, who waspulling a prank on the feds. Etkind also offers much factual materialin the annotations to the many selections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Morbidly Good
Great insight into the peak of human irrational thought. Makes your day seems so much less troublesome. If you change a few words around, the suicide letters sometimes turn into love letters.

Great Coffee Table Book
Great coffee table book for guests to start up a conversation.Also impressed with the actual number of notes and attempted notes. However I will echo other comments that the author frequently interjects his own OPINION in between writing.I put the word opinion in capital letters because his opinions are often dictated as if they were absolute fact - usually in the form of a disrespectful comment likely put in to discourage others from committing suicide.But the fact is that no one really knows what pain a person must be going through to actually go through with such a terrible act, and I found it rude that the author would frequently insult or discredit the persons last words - albeit for a noble reason; it still gets in the way. To make matters worse, there were frequent moments where I simply did not agree with Etkind's opinions which were purely subjective. In the end, after purchasing this book and reading a collection of suicide notes the only opinion that matters is that of the reader. And reading this book and forming your own educated thoughts about the subject is what reading this book should be about.....Just my two cents.

essential material in the hands of a child
Mr. Etkind handles the important material with the sophistication of a high school jock assembling a book about abortion rights. If there was any danger of other people buying this book, I would take the time to discourage them.

Fascinating subject via a horrible author
I uncovered my copy of "...or not to be" beneath some shirts on my floor and leafed through it again.What struck me the first time I read this years ago and again today was the sad fact that this fascinating subject landed in the hands of such a terrible author.How he got this published, I'll never know.

While the notes in this book are interesting by their nature, Marc Etkind's commentary displays the depth of his ignorance of suicide as well as his disdain for it.In no way does this book touch upon the psychological, philosophical complexity of suicide.His interpretations, at best, are amateurish and void of meaning.At its worst, they are condescending and cruel.Here is the last sentence of the introduction to the book, written by Etkind -

"The following collection will allow the reader to decide just how good a correspondent the suicide note-writer really is."

Um, Mr. Etkind?This isn't a book about correspondence or letter writing 101.How far off base can this guy get?In the small biography about Etkind at the end of the book, it reads, "Marc Etkind has probably read more suicide notes than anyone else.This he does for enjoyment."(Then it talks about what he does for a living)If that doesn't tell you how cavalier his approach is to suicide, I don't know what will.

Clearly, the value of this book is the notes themselves.I regret this book wasn't written by someone who actually has an interest in suicide and suicide notes rather than childish enjoyment.It could have been very informative; to get a unique view into the minds of those who left by their own hand.Even if it had been purely for entertainment, lacking serious overtones, that could have worked too.

Marc Etkind is neither serious nor entertaining.He didn't bother to mask his contempt, bias or lack of understanding about suicide and it shows.Two stars.Both for the rare and interesting subject matter.As for Marc Etkind?His enjoyment in collecting these notes is anything but enjoyable for the reader.Read the notes and the backstories, they are compelling.Skip the rest.

Interesting, but certainly not to die for
I expected better.A very thin book with very little space devoted to actual suicide notes.The introduction was written by someone who doesn't really seem to understand the suicidal mindset.There were a couple pretty interesting chapters, such as the golden gate bridge jumpers, but I'm glad I interlibrary loaned the book rather than buying it.Many of the notes are very old, like 1900-1920.One intresting quote which I will paraphrase here says that mentally healthy comfortable people don't want to write and that to want to write is a sign of mental problems.It really says something about me.I get excited just seeing a fresh notebook. ... Read more

Product Description
The first book of its kind, . . . Or Not to Be offers rare insights into the lives--and deaths--of such luminaries as Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, Diane Arbus, Jim Jones, Anne Sexton, Hermann Goering, Kurt Cobain, and Yukio Mishima, via their last letters and suicide notes.Amazon.com Review
. . . Or Not to Be is described, by its own editor, as"pornography." It's also oddly fascinating, a collection of suicidenotes by the famous, including Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh, DianeArbus, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf. Also included are poignantlast words from the utterly obscure, including an anonymous Siberianwho duly noted that "the snow will cover my footsteps," and a man whowrote "Bow wow and good-bye, Pepper," to his dog. Of particularinterest in the collection are suicide notes by DorothyParker, who survived, and Ken Kesey, who waspulling a prank on the feds. Etkind also offers much factual materialin the annotations to the many selections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Morbidly Good
Great insight into the peak of human irrational thought. Makes your day seems so much less troublesome. If you change a few words around, the suicide letters sometimes turn into love letters.

Great Coffee Table Book
Great coffee table book for guests to start up a conversation.Also impressed with the actual number of notes and attempted notes. However I will echo other comments that the author frequently interjects his own OPINION in between writing.I put the word opinion in capital letters because his opinions are often dictated as if they were absolute fact - usually in the form of a disrespectful comment likely put in to discourage others from committing suicide.But the fact is that no one really knows what pain a person must be going through to actually go through with such a terrible act, and I found it rude that the author would frequently insult or discredit the persons last words - albeit for a noble reason; it still gets in the way. To make matters worse, there were frequent moments where I simply did not agree with Etkind's opinions which were purely subjective. In the end, after purchasing this book and reading a collection of suicide notes the only opinion that matters is that of the reader. And reading this book and forming your own educated thoughts about the subject is what reading this book should be about.....Just my two cents.

essential material in the hands of a child
Mr. Etkind handles the important material with the sophistication of a high school jock assembling a book about abortion rights. If there was any danger of other people buying this book, I would take the time to discourage them.

Fascinating subject via a horrible author
I uncovered my copy of "...or not to be" beneath some shirts on my floor and leafed through it again.What struck me the first time I read this years ago and again today was the sad fact that this fascinating subject landed in the hands of such a terrible author.How he got this published, I'll never know.

While the notes in this book are interesting by their nature, Marc Etkind's commentary displays the depth of his ignorance of suicide as well as his disdain for it.In no way does this book touch upon the psychological, philosophical complexity of suicide.His interpretations, at best, are amateurish and void of meaning.At its worst, they are condescending and cruel.Here is the last sentence of the introduction to the book, written by Etkind -

"The following collection will allow the reader to decide just how good a correspondent the suicide note-writer really is."

Um, Mr. Etkind?This isn't a book about correspondence or letter writing 101.How far off base can this guy get?In the small biography about Etkind at the end of the book, it reads, "Marc Etkind has probably read more suicide notes than anyone else.This he does for enjoyment."(Then it talks about what he does for a living)If that doesn't tell you how cavalier his approach is to suicide, I don't know what will.

Clearly, the value of this book is the notes themselves.I regret this book wasn't written by someone who actually has an interest in suicide and suicide notes rather than childish enjoyment.It could have been very informative; to get a unique view into the minds of those who left by their own hand.Even if it had been purely for entertainment, lacking serious overtones, that could have worked too.

Marc Etkind is neither serious nor entertaining.He didn't bother to mask his contempt, bias or lack of understanding about suicide and it shows.Two stars.Both for the rare and interesting subject matter.As for Marc Etkind?His enjoyment in collecting these notes is anything but enjoyable for the reader.Read the notes and the backstories, they are compelling.Skip the rest.

Interesting, but certainly not to die for
I expected better.A very thin book with very little space devoted to actual suicide notes.The introduction was written by someone who doesn't really seem to understand the suicidal mindset.There were a couple pretty interesting chapters, such as the golden gate bridge jumpers, but I'm glad I interlibrary loaned the book rather than buying it.Many of the notes are very old, like 1900-1920.One intresting quote which I will paraphrase here says that mentally healthy comfortable people don't want to write and that to want to write is a sign of mental problems.It really says something about me.I get excited just seeing a fresh notebook. ... Read more