Three studies were conducted to outline a protocol analysis approach to suicide notes and to investigate Shneidman’s theoretical formulations on suicide. In a sample of 33 genuine and 33 simulated notes, specific protocol sentences were observed more often in genuine than in simulated notes. In 60 suicide notes equally divided between young, middle and late adulthood, age was found to be the critical variable. In a similar study for age and gender no differences were found.