An examination of the notes of suicide victims & the official reports of various social control agents in order to facilitate an understanding of the social construction of the meaning of suicide as well as its multiple meanings. All official records of suicides in Washoe, Nevada for a 3-year period were reviewed. It was found that about half of the notes consisted of a moral meaning in the form of an excusatory note; emphasis was in the themes of escapism, grief, flight & loss.