Resource Tag: SIBLING LOSS

The author reviews the book “The Eclipse. A Memoir of Suicide,” by Antonella Gambotto, calling it “a brilliant, moving book.” The book describes the author’s experience of the suicide deaths of both her lover & her brother, which the reviewer finds to be “partly a literary work on grief, a portrayal of the suffering & […]

Parental responses over an 18-month time period were gathered on an open-ended question about the difficulties experienced by surviving adolescent children after their sibling’s death. Parents reported that they perceived little change over time in their children’s responses: surviving adolescents continued to have multiple grief reactions & behavioral changes up to 2 years after the […]

This letter is a response to the comments of Dr. Laura Schlessinger during her broadcast conversation with a woman whose sister died by suicide. The author of the letter states that her comments were remarkably insensitive & misguided. Research is presented that discredits Dr. Laura’s advise. It is noted that suicide is not a personal […]

This article is an autobiographical account of a woman’s bereavement experience following the suicidal death of her brother. She describes her feelings of guilt & avoidance. A description is included of how writing & intense therapy assisted her during her bereavement. She notes the long period of time & difficulty experiencing her bereavement after attempting […]

This article is an excerpt from the author’s book, “Vita’s Will: Real Life Lessons about Life and Death & Moving On.” It describes her reaction to the loss of her sister to suicide, including the struggles she & her family had with grief, anger, guilt, & finally acceptance.

This article describes the origin of the “Letters Project” initiated by the author: a book compiling what he calls “the Reports by those who had something unique to say, or something wonderful, humerous, outrageous or profound,” which they communicated at the time of their death. He describes his own experience with letters written to himself […]

This article discusses the implications of certain words used to describe the act of suicide. Specifically, the author questions the connotations (both historical & contemporary) of the word “committed,” which often imparts the feeling that suicide is a crime or a sin. The limitations of alternate words,including “completed” & “suicided” are also discussed. The author […]

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This article reports the findings from four data collection points of parental responses over an 18-month period time frame to an open-ended question about the difficulties experienced by surviving adolescent children after their sibling’s death. The data show that parents reported they perceived little change over time in their children’s responses; surviving adolescents continued to […]

The author writes of the mental health problems & eventual suicide of her sister. She raises the issue of patient confidentiality versus the rights of the family members of suicidal patients, & highlights what the family believes to have been the inadequacy of services available for both patients & families.

This newspaper clipping is a message from a sister to her brother. She articulates her feelings of shock, anger, & grief. She also describes his funeral & how the suicide of her brother has affected her life. (SC)

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This paper describes psychosocial characteristics of children & young adolescents who had experienced a recent suicidal death of a parent or sibling. 16 families with children aged 4 to 14 years were evaluated for psychiatric symptoms & social adjustment. These survivors were found to have a higher rate of internalizing symptoms & poorer school adjustment […]

The psychiatric impact of loss of a family member to suicide was evaluated in parents & siblings of adolescent suicide victims, & controls, who were followed up to 3 years after the suicide. Siblings did not show an increased risk for depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or other conditions. Mothers showed an increased rate of recurrence […]

This article comments on the case of a 15-year-old male who hanged himself in a psychiatric hospital. The factors that placed him at risk are described, particularly the suicide of an older brother with whom he identified.