Resource Tag: AUTOBIOGRAPHY

In this article, Shneidman shares some aspects of his private intellectual history, specifically as they relate to his half-century career as a suicidologist. Shneidman attributes his success to a happy combination of chance & a prepared mind, a concept which originated with Louis Pasteur.

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This article is written by a survivor of suicidal crisis & discusses depression & anxiety. Describes some of the weapons needed to battle these problems including faith, the support of others who have “been there”, self-care, drug avoidance & finding pleasure in life.

This article is written by a woman whose father committed suicide at the age of 46, when she was 21. He had been struggling for many years with undiagnosed depression & alcoholism. Now, at the age of 46, she reflects on the suicide & her own depression due to bipolar disorder. The realization that her […]

This article describes the grief felt by those whose children commit suicide. The author’s son committed suicide at the age of 14. The feelings & thoughts experienced are discussed from a mother’s point of view.

In the CBS movie “Silence of the Heart,” Mariette Hartley plays the mother of a teenage boy who kills himself. In this article, she talks about the life of her father (advertising ewxecutive, artist, & photographer), her childhood, his suicide, the toll it took on the family, her bereavement, & her challenges in making the […]

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This essay is Lopate’s account of the suicide of a co-worker, Jay Becker. He writes about his reaction to the suicide as well as the reactions of his colleagues & Becker’s students. Because no one else was telling the students the truth about Becker’s death, Lopate decided that he would talk to them. Using a […]

Alvarez discusses the logic of suicide, arguing that suicide is a closed world with its own irresistible logic. Different types of suicides are described, e.g. the perfectionist who cannot tolerate one aspect of himself or the individual for whom suicide is a vocation. In the latter part of the chapter, Alvarez discusses his own suicide […]

This excerpt from “Darkness Visible” relates Styron’s experiences with major depression. Styron describes the course of his illness, his decision to commit suicide, & the event that changed his mind & caused him, instead, to seek help for his depression.

This is the story of the author’s reaction to a patient suicide early in her professional career.

“An Unquiet Mind” reveals the author’s struggle with manic-depression & how it has shaped her life since her first attack at age 17. Jamison recounts her struggle with this illness through college & graduate school, through episodes of violence, & attempted suicide. She talks about her fear of letting go of the highs & her […]

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This book contains 45 short essays which offer arguments & thoughts on why an individual should not commit suicide. For example, in the essay “Marilyn Monroe”, it is argued that although Monroe was glamorous, her suicide was not. Monroe suffered repeated childhood traumas including being abandoned & abused. Arena says that in spite of these […]

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File copy is the best copy available.

This is a mother’s story about the loss of her adolescent son to suicide. Bolton personally details the emotional impact of losing a child to suicide, the painful impact on her family and her professional life as a counselor, and the slow and painful road to healing. Her personal story, and suggestions for coping with […]