Suicide Books

This is a wonderfully written, practical, thoughtful resource. As a minister serving a church, I've often wrestled with how to do something "hands-on" when a child loses a grandparent. Offering this book is the answer! Theologically sound and really written for kids!

I bought this book to help my 7 yr old deal with my dad's his grandpa's death. We haven't started the book yet but I have had a chance to look through it. As a family whose attends church and has strong Christian beliefs I was glad to have this resourse available to me. I know this will help my son with his grieving process.

As a pastor, I have found this book invaluable when talking to children about death. Very sensitive. Also an excellent resource for parents who don't know how to begin the conversation about death.

I found this book to be extremely useful for my family and for clients. I am a clinical psychologist. I find this book a wonderful tool to give to my patients for thier families during grief. Very difficult information is presented in a clear and thoughtful manner.

Shadowdad displayed a vision from the heart. Well written and moving, the book certainly touched my heart. A definite read especially for those with aging parents. Rick says it all beautifully.

Rick's story about his family's experience with his Dad following several debilitating strokes must have been an extraordinarily difficult story to write. But I'm glad he did it. He discusses honestly the very difficult decisions and emotions families of "no hope, no quality of life" patients face. It is thought provoking and would be an excellent vehicle to facilitate a discussion on assisted suicide/living will issues. We are kinder to our pets at the end of their lives than we are to our family members.

This is a gutsy book, particularly the last third, as it chronicles with unusual personal honesty the five-year decline of the author's father from a bright and energetic person to the shell of a man sentenced to a lingering death. This book certainly makes you think about your own end. D H

Watrous's book contains a moving account of both the author's relationship with his father and the gradual deterioration of his father's physical, mental and emotional conditions following a stroke. Watrous examines his family's experience with a living will in New Hampshire and details his own struggle with the Death with Dignity isssue. Also discussed: resident care, assisted suicide, euthanasia and the rights of humans not to suffer.

This is an amazing book. Being of the same age and background as the author, what struck me most was the incredible accuracy of his account of everyday life in Holland during the late 50's and early 60's. Since I also have a mother who suffers from depressions, this book did not let loose until I finished it. I recognize the moodswings, the silent cries for help and my own helplessness, not being able to make my Mom's life less miserable. Everyone who knows someone in a similar situation should read this book!

I found 'She Is With Angels' to be very beautiful. and I read it in one stretch. It was well-written, in particular because the writer still knew so much about his youth. The book touched me very much: I think that many suicide survivors will find support through it. But even for people without any prior suicide experience the book is very nice, because it seems as if you're part of the book. That's done very cleverly. I am curious if August Swanenberg plans to write another book, because if that's the case, I will certainly read it.

As I read this book I felt like I was walking in the footsteps of a child while he shared his day to day experiences moving always closer to the most devastating loss I think a child can experience. As the reader there was nothing I could do to dispel the mounting tension and the knowledge of what was going to happen. I asked the same questions, the first one being why? The next how could she leave her children? Then who or what do you blame? Finally, how do you find a way to open a door or window to get rid of the anger, the fear, and the secret darkness of suicide? I would and will strongly recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which was a heartfelt recounting of a young man's early childhood and the sucide of his mother. It takes the reader through the years following the tragedy until the author comes to terms with the incident. Told only in terms which could be associated with an actual event. This book should help others who also have suffered such loss. It helps to understand how a person carries on throughout the rest of his life and finally tries to discover all the facts, wondered about as a child. It shows how a young life can be effected by persons "in authority" hiding facts. Shame, hurt, etc are felt until as a young man the truth is finally told and understood.An excellent read that could be enjoyed by anyone experiencing such a loss n their own life or anyone interested in the subject matter. I highly recommend the book, "She is with Angels," by August Swanenberg.

Although this book is listed for young people, I read the back cover and decided to see for myself how she treated this subject. The book's title, however, is very misleading. "Stone Water" as a title would make this book a questionable choice to pick up to read. Although I am in my sixties, this book was wonderful and I felt like I was there with Grant and his Grandfather. I am in total agreement with the choice that Grant made and think the author presented this story very well. A quick but not easy read because of subject, this book is definitely worth reading.

A must read. This book changed the way I view assisted suicide. Through a young child's life we see how one's final wish can shape another's life. A real tear jerker. It empties your emotions and leaves you trapped in the world the book creates for hours, if not days after. As all good books should do.

Stone Water is an excellent book dealing with real subjects in todays world. It deals with the hardships of life and death. In our fast paced world we need to stop and think about the quality of life, not the length of it. I loved the book, once I started reading it I couldn't put it down.

Eighth-grader Grant is a loving child whose affection for his dignified grandfather would never be questioned. In fact, when his grandfather suffers a stroke and is sent to "The Other Wing" of the nursing home, Grant is the only one in the family who makes the time to visit him; his mother and father are both so wrapped up in their careers that they find neglecting both Grant and the grandfather too easy to do. This story becomes complicated from the very beginning when the reader realizes that the letter and recorded story Grant has received from his grandfather is actually a cleverly disguised request for assisted suicide. Throughout the remainder of the novel, we follow Grant's life through months of agony as he tries to make sense of the value of life and the inevitability of death. The secondary characters--Grant's parents, his best friend Avery, and even Randi--become part of the reader's inability to put down this book. You won't know for sure what Grant does until the end of the story, and you will be left questioning what you would do in the same situation.

Burnham began his career in political activism as a Trotskyite communist and became a very committed anti-communist. Like Buckley, Burnham, in the sixties and seventies particularly, provided intellectual fortification for the conservative movement.

        First published in the early sixties, Suicide of the West is a withering indictment of liberalism. Far from serving as a bulwark against communism, liberalism, Burnham shows, is the ideology of Western suicide, communism in its preliminary stage. Though Soviet communism has collapsed, liberalism remains, and as long as it does, Suicide of the West should be read by conservatives.

This book was written in 1964 but is as relevant (if not more so) today than it was when first published. Since that time, modern liberalism has moved further leftward and worldwide Communist revolutionary impulses have only marginally declined, notwithstanding the collapse of the Soviet Union. Red China is becoming the new Red menace and Russia is in the midst of potentially dangerous changes.

The very premise of this book has played out on the world scene since its writing. The liberal approach towards Communism (i.e. appeasement) in the 1970s had weakened the Western resolve to contain Communism just as Burnham predicted it would. On the other hand, the 1980s demonstrated the efficacy of the opposite approach, namely mustering the will and resources to rollback Communism. And the 1990s served to remind us all once again how ill-equipped liberalism is in containing Communism as the Red Dragon raised its ugly head and the Bear grew restless.

Burnham spends the first two-thirds of the book describing the liberal worldview in intellectual and moral terms. He begins by first outlining the major tenets of liberalism and shows from whence they arose. He then demonstrates how some of these tenets are intellectually weak due to their internal inconsistency, mutual incompatibility, and failures in application.

Burnham then shifts to the moral/psychological aspect of liberalism, specifically the role of values in liberal ideology; and the priority that liberals give to those values. He also explains the sentiments that drive the commitment to liberalism and explains how, in many cases, those sentiments are inconsistent with the intellectual tenets of liberalism. He also describes the powerful role guilt plays in the liberal impulse towards egalitarianism.

Especially enlightening is Burnham's contrasting of the modern liberal with the classical liberal of the 19th century. He makes the comparison by showing that many of the intellectual tenets of modern liberalism are absent from the 19th century laissez-faire version. He also describes how and why values have been inverted - namely that the modern liberal now esteems peace/security above freedom/liberty.

With the intellectual/psychological analysis of liberalism complete, Burnham then proceeds to evaluate the threat of Communism to Western Civilization. His explanation of Communism's inherent demand to achieve world dominance is superb. There is no mistaking the fact that co-existence with capitalism is simply not an option for the Communist.

But because modern liberalism shares similar egalitarian impulses with Communism, it is intellectually and morally weakened before the Red menace. In short, it is difficult to oppose Communism from the Left. There simply is too much in common to come out in direct opposition to its ideology. This is not to say that liberals support Communist tactics, although they have been among the Kremlin's chief apologists at various times (e.g. 1930s, 1960s).

Because liberals share many egalitarian goals with Communism, they become "useful idiots" for the world revolutionaries, whose interest it is to create instability in non-Communist countries. For example, it is now known (vis-à-vis post-Cold War Archives) that the Soviet Union incited and exploited much of the American civil unrest (1930s, 1960s) that liberal ideologues created in their pursuit of egalitarianism. In essence, because of an overlap in their common goals, the Communists found the modern liberal to be a useful tool for hastening the world revolution of the proletariat.

However, unlike its explicit goals, liberal sentiments are actually quite disjoint from the Communist. In fact, the differences in sentiments are what permit Communists to use liberals to further their revolutionary goals. For example, the liberal's quest for peace is not the same as the Communist's. The Communist sees peace as the calm arising out of a world free of capitalism. It does not mean peace achieved by nation's agreeing to mutual co-existence. But the Communist finds the liberal's pursuit of "peace" useful in order to weaken the security of non-Communist nations.

So willingly or unwittingly, modern liberals, especially from the West, are essentially useless when it comes to halting the Communist quest to dominate and eventually overthrow non-communist systems. Their perspective prevents them from confronting the non-rational ideological menace with the only principle it understands -- force.

Only a hard-line stance (as Ronald Reagan promoted) and proactive measures will put a check on an ideology that has world domination as its ultimate goal. This lesson has been demonstrated once as a result of the Cold War outcome. And one can only hope and pray that the lesson will not be forgotten. Because if it is, the West will indeed commit suicide and be delivered into the hands of International Communism.

The reviews that I read here are right on the mark, so I will not venture to repeat their observations. Perhaps the most salient aspect of James Burnham book is it's astute observations of human nature and its consequences in terms of economics and justice. There is no philosophizing here; Burnham provides a dispassionate description of what modern liberal democracies and there inherent vulnerabilities. Just for its descriptions on human nature and world outlook, it should be required reading if most if not all undergraduates, regardless of what field.

I can't give this book the review it deserves. Truth is I read it 11 years ago and would mangle it if i tried to get specific. But it is absolutely a must-read for people who are vaguely certain that there is something wrong with the dominant trends in 20th century western social thought, but can't elucidate their thoughts. I read this book quite by accident the year after i finished college, and the memory of the thrill i felt is still with me. Suicide of the West will challenge and provoke, excite and inspire. It will send you to the library: you'll read 10 more books because of it. Read this book.

An introduction to the reality of the twisted motivation that makes suicide bombing possible. Take a deep breath and dive into a world we never wanted to know.

Suicide String seems to foresee so much of what is happening now. The questions being asked by our government about America's security services, especially concerning the FBI and the CIA, are chilling in the least. Keimach anticipated all that in his novel, which is about a serious matter -- terrorism that rears its ugly head everywhere. Terror has been around for a long time,so there is nothing new in that. What is new, for most readers anyway, is how this latest wave of suicidal destruction came about. He tells the story well, and leaves out little of the horror. If you're into gory details, there's enough of that too. This book is an important statement and merits a close reading.

First there was Oklahoma. Then there was 9/11. I wondered if all terrorists were the same. Although their goals and the base for their misconceptions may be different, the idea of terror for its own sake weaves a powerful argument. Of course terrorism is highly complex and there is no simple answer, but Suicide String brings to light some of the rationale behind the present-day violence. Precisely because the mayhem is so diverse and convoluted, as Keimach suggests in his well written novel, the solutions are just as diverse and difficult.
But the theme that vigilance also reaps a reward is yet another important solution. It's a good read. There's a believable plot with characters who bring home a horrible but vital message in today's post 9/11 completely changed world.

Suicide String is a bold and successful effort at explaining the rationale and history behind a terrorism that exists in and of itself. Keimach sets out sketching the origins of modern terror movements among the eleventh century Assassins, and takes the reader along a tortuous path that leads to the bizarre logic of today's suicide bombers. The book is full of the history of the Israeli-Arab impasse; and the characters dancing in and out of the plot encompass everyone from a bevy of determined bombers, their hapless victims, and the frantic efforts of those bent on stopping the destruction of life and property. If there is any note of criticism, it is only that Keimach leaves the reader with a sense of frustration about conflict resolution, in spite of a finale that is shockingly believable. It's required reading for anyone even mildly concerned about terror alerts. Unless you live in the middle of the Gobi desert or on top of a mountain, read it now.

This is a very deep and loving book by a gifted writer and sincere individual, my chrsitmas gift to everyone on my list

highly recommend

I am a little bias to the book being that I contribute a chapter in it but I think that this book will help anyone that has lost a loved one to suicide both recently and not. I am just blessed to have been a part of it. I am going to give this book to everyone in my family for Valentine's day.

As a mom grieving over the loss of her son to suicide, I was so grateful to receive this book as a gift from my other son. It is a book that speaks not only to parents, but to siblings and children of suicides. It gives hope to those of us left behind that we are not alone in our despair. I belong to a small support group and bought this book as a gift for those friends who are trying to find happiness in life again. We are all grateful to the author for bringing all the stories together and to all those who contributed their own heartbreak.

This book is written by television news anchor, award winning journalist and former beauty queen Heather Hays. It includes her story, that of the author that lost her fiance of 10 years to suicide. She's been there, she knows the pain. Reading her account of the suicide that forever changed her life will bring tears to your eyes. But the book is not only about the author's journey back. It is so much more. As you read the accounts of literally dozens of other survivors you will be touched by the fragility of life and the need to lend support and love to those that have been left behind.

The survivors that tell their story in this book run the gamut - siblings left behind, friends, lovers, parents, children ... all left behind to deal with unimaginable pain. There is no point in sugarcoating this, you will feel the anguish and at times you'll have to put the book down to take a deep breath, or to weep. But you will pick it back up to see and feel the spirit and note the strength as survivors tell their stories. One by one they tell of the pain and despair. But that becomes the strength of the book because the contributors DO come back. They fight through the anger, pain and guilt and they do survive and in doing so, give hope to all of us.

A really touching, inspiring book, wtitten by a beautiful human being.

S. Marie has crafted a delicate poetic journey through one of the most difficult tragedies the human race can fathom. A very sensitive issue to explore her sensitive insights into the untimely suicide of her family, the generational recreation of suicide in her family history, and the impact that this earthshaking event had on Ms. Hugo pulls the reader captive. Artfully done with photographs it becomes more than one families private pain. It is a universal cry for those who lose someone to the act of self destruction.

Tender Pain a poetic journey, is a well written book. The author S. Marie Hugo has taken adversity and turned it into something positive in her life. As a writer myself I appreciate the way she captured her feelings and expressed them so well on paper for the reader. An Author with feelings, ability and commitment to express her deepest thoughts with the reader. A lesson here we all should heed and remember. Well done and worth the time and money, an excellent choice.

this book truely delivers the pain and strong lastin emotions that are compelled to last a life time. i have an original manuscript some day maybe it'll be a collectors item. this is one of my most cherished books. i deeply feel for sharron and have tried to be there for her during these emotional years. we have been friends since kindergarten ...a frienship to last a life time.love ya sharron!

S. Marie Hugo displays imagery of a broken heart and the healing of a young woman. Her vision is compelling and thoughtful. Her words expressed deeply. She took something tragic in her life and made it a journey of learning and acceptance. Acceptance of life, death and of God. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world.

good information on dying and transitioning into the process

Co-written by professional counseling staff members Moira Cairns, Marney Thompson, Wendy Wainwright and sanctioned by the Victoria Hospice Society, Transitions In Dying & Bereavement: A Psychosocial Guide For Hospice And Palliative Care walks the reader through the stages that chronically ill and dying individuals and their families must progress through, from diagnosis to death to bereavement. The most effective interventions for easing stress and confusion are clearly explained, along with sample dialogues that reveal the issues and challenges at each step. Chapters include notes on multicultural and interdenominational perspectives on death and dying, perspectives on body image, intimacy, and sexuality in the dying, ways to help alleviate feelings of anxiety, fear, burnout, denial, and powerlessness, ways to help in planning for death, and much more. A must-read for aspiring or practicing hospice counselors.

This book is a great resource for anyone in hospice or palliative care. By following the structure of the Palliative Performance Scale, this book will guide you through the varied experiences of people who are dying and their loved ones. The authors do an excellent job of portraying the confusion and stress that surround many families from the point of diagnosis until the final phases of grief, while also giving professionals the information they need to provide comfort and reassurance in this difficult time.

This book should really be considered the Hospice Bible, or at least one volume of it. I have never seen a book so clearly laid out, so encompassing of the psychospiritualsocial concerns and strengths for hospice patients and their families! Our hospice bought it after I fell in love with it. Now our social workers and I (grief specialist and death educator) are using it to train our interdiscplinary team on 1. sensitivity, 2. helpful interventions, 3. understanding family AND team dynamics, and 4. understanding the range of care and history that each patient brings with them (such as their previous experiences with the medical, social services, spiritual, and psychological/psychiatric communitites).

At a time when hospice is changing so radically (with so many for profit hospice and so many agencies "pretending to do hospice under the guise of home health" it is refreshing to see a group who has been able to embrace the totality of palliation and hospice in such a humanistic and holistic way!!!

Kudos to the staff at the Victoria Hospice Society. I hope you know how many other lives you changed as this book was published!!!!

Voices of Strength, Sons and Daughters of Suicide Speak Out fills a void in the literature available for the survivor of suicide community. As a 15 year survivor of my father's suicide, I found this book revealing as I learned new things myself from the commonalities and experiences of others described. The survivor stories, combined with practical and professional input from both Judy and Mia and others make this book a great resource for a diverse audience including survivors, families, friends, mental health professionals, medical professionals and anyone with an interest in learning more. I strongly recommend it.

Having read many books on the subject of suicide since my mother's suicide over 19 years ago, I can say, without hesitation, that "Voices of Stength" is an exceptional resource. I was particularly touched by the multi-dimensional and comprehensive treatment of the experiences shared by surviving sons and daughters. I noted so many parallels in the tender feelings that I experienced and continue to experience at times. It is also heart-warming to know, as Mia and Judy have so ably demonstrated, that we can not only heal from our grief, but also thrive and live with joy again!

This is the first book I have found in 10 years of research that is truly helpful for people of all ages who have lost a parent or parents to suicide. There are wonderful books for parents who have lost children, and adults who have lost spouses; however, this book is the first of its kind. I highly recommend it for survivors, therapists, clergy and anyone who has a survivor in their life.

Very honest personal accounts of how parent suicide changed lives forever. A subject that is not often spoken about or understood.