Sara Teasdale: Case Study of a Completed Suicide (IN: Now I lay me Down: Suicide in the Elderly, edited by D Lester & M Tallmer)

This chapter presents the case of Sara Teasdale, the American poet who died in 1933. Sara was never in psychiatric treatment & the case discussion considers how she might have fared today when treatment resources are more available. The chapter notes it is useful to examine individual cases of suicide in detail in order to determine whether the abstract generalizations that are often made about suicial behavior have relevance for individuals.