It is suggested that gay youth who attempt suicide represent a special case in which the meanings associated with life & death are worth exploration. 16 gay men who attempted suicide were asked how they perceived life & death before the attempt & how these perceptions are linked to the attempt. Orbach’s model specifies 4 categories of attitudes toward life & death. Only 3 categories emerged from the interview data, “attraction to life” was missing. An analysis attempts to account for this gap.