From a post-structuralist perspective the metaphors though which suicide comes to be known are examined via indepth interviews with 41 young people as part of a larger study also involving 40 adults/professionals within urban & regional communities in Australia. Shame figures predominantly in young people’s accounts of suicidal experiences & the everyday social relations that govern the expression of emotion. In contrast to the positivist bent of much suicide research & policy, this article argues for the necessity of understanding the social dynamics of shame in relation to the forces that constitute the emergent subjectivities of young people. (38 refs.)