Suicide Books

Jonathan Aurthur has written a masterpiece on Mental Illness. His in-depth understanding of Mental Illness comes from his experiencing it and living with it everyday of his life for five years with his beautiful son Charley. Jonathan takes the reader on a journey through this ordeal with such candor and wit, that the reader feels sadness when the book ends.

Jonathan's unbelievable research of every aspect of Mental Illness, is so helpful to those of us that still don't understand and never will understand, how a person can go from A - Z, Z to A, and A to dead in such a short time!

His handsome, poetic and intelligent son's five year struggle with "his affliction" is detailed and chronicled in this book by using excerpts from his own personal journal and his son's journal. We finally have insight into the mind of someone tortured by this disease.

My 30-year-old son, William B. Jones, received his BS in Physics from Hobart College in NY. He played varsity hockey for Hobart College and graduated with a 3.5. He received his MS in Computer Engineering from Syracuse in October 1997 (3.87 GPA) and worked for almost two years in NY at a pharmaceutical company. A perfect son! In 1999 he became ill and returned home, never comprehending what was wrong with him. In February of 2000 he was taken by the police, in handcuffs, to Community North Hospital Psychiatric Ward, diagnosed Manic Depressive with Psychotic Features. He fought the illness for a year and a half, until he surrendered on July 25th, 2001. I found him in the garage, he had hung himself!

Jonathan Aurthur's book, "The Angel and The Dragon," should be a text book that is taught in schools, studied and read by police, teachers, Doctors, Nurses and Professionals. Mental Illness is a deadly disease.

For anyone with a loved one or good friend who has suffered from mental illness, The Angel and the Dragon is a fascinating but difficult read. Jonathan Aurthur's tale of his son's mental illness and suicide is heart-breaking. His research into the mental health profession/industry is, at once, a revelation and revulsion. The reader cannot escape Aurthur's pain and frustation as he attempts to help guide his son through difficult psychotic episodes. That frustation becomes compounded as Aurthur researches doctors and the drug industries in an attempt to figure out what is wrong with his son and how to abate it if not cure it.

This book is not an easy one to read but it leaves you with a feeling of gratitude that you did.

This is probably the best book on the subject that I've seen. It doesn't just dogmatically take a stand, but expreses a real understanding of the various positions that have been taken within the Christian tradition and explains their strengths and weaknesses. If you don't have much background in this area, this book is for you, and if you are a scholar in this area, you can still learn from this book. I highly recommend it.

I have read a variety of books on this topic and must say that this is the best resource I've seen, not just for Christians, but for those of any or no religious belief. It looks at the full range of Christian and secular arguments for and against assisted suicide and euthansia, as well as a middle position. Moreover, it goes on to challenge readers to move beyond simplistic solutions and to emerge with a view they can support in good conscience. It includes reflections on the role of physicians at the end of life, ways in which to limit technology, and whether upholding the sanctity of life requires Christians to extend it for as long as possible.

Ms. Carlson has done a sterling job of describing life with her son, Ben. Bright and severely depressed, Ben commits suicide. Naturally this act has a very devastating impact on his surviving family members.

This book is not just about Ben, per se. It is a book about how suicide affects family members, red flags to watch for and other symptoms of severe depression. She does a good job of describing mental disorders other than depression and it is her loving, yet frank portrayal of Ben that the reader sees behind the Iron Curtain of suicide. It is a very moving book that most likely will bring tears to the eyes of readers. It is one that should be read and taken seriously.

Gut-wrenching in parts, but always frank and honest, this account of the life of a young teenaged suicide victim and his struggles is such an important work. "This book brings depression and suicide out of the closet," one other reader wrote, and she's right. There are as many reasons for suicide as there are people on earth, but there are some symptoms worth addressing, and Carlson's book is the guide to them. If you're dealing with a young person with depression, attention deficit disorder, or any type of anxiety disorder, this book is a must-read. Plainly written from the heart of someone who's been there (and who continues to work on these illnesses) "Ben's Story" will stay with you.

The TPB was delivered promptly and in mint condition. I will definitely continue to look to Amazon.com for my TPB list. I recommend Amazon.com to any TPB Comic Collector.

*sigh* okay - I just got done writing reviews for two other Bomb Queen comics on this site (check em out for more solidification to get this book - I know you want it)


I loved the first comic in this series, I loved the second, the third and when I read this little ditty - I was so impressed! I laughed out loud more than once (a superhero that can edit the words of bad guys right off the page?! Trust me - that's funny)
Though Jimmie Robinson isn't done with the series (right!?) this installment really tied some lose ends and explains a lot of things in really fun ways.

Bomb Queen is really challenged in this episode but she handles every situation, as always, with coolness, and @$$ kicking grace (does that make sense?)

All these comics are so colorful and just fun to look at - looking at all the funny details in the background is half the fun of this sexy, violent, funny ride.

This should help - the following should determine fairly well if you'll think Bomb Queen is stupid, whats the point, bla bla - or if you get it for what it really is and can laugh with it:

If you've seen the (wonderful) movie "American Psycho" with Christian Bale - did you think it was one of the funniest and quotable movies you've ever seen or did you think it was sick and disgusting and never want to see it again?

If you're of the former - you will choose this comic and you will be glad you did and you might even thank me (and you will most likely pick up the rest of the series) and of course, the opposite, if you're of the latter opinion - you might not like this. You might, but eh, chances are you won't (American Psycho is funny believe it or not - just like Bomb Queen)
Don't assume however that Bomb Queen's humor is all subtle - it is at times and it wears it out and proud on it's sleeve a lot of times too.

If you're reading this, you're already interested - so let this review (which does this series the most justice than the other hacks who just see boobs and blood and start crying) push you towards putting that interest towards actually picking up one of these books.

Start from the first book to really enjoy this 4th installment - you'll be glad you did. ;)

This is a very witty (and sick) collection of cartoons about ways to commit suicide. This is the perfect gift for a miserable friend who needs to snap out of it. I lost this book about a year ago and I can't believe its out of print now. We need more of Andrew Christie's wicked mind to keep us sane.

Why on earth did this book go out of print? It's just what we need to get the run-of-the-mill out of millenium. Every time I show this mind-warping rare classic to friends they say, This is the perfect alternative to therapy! Where can I get this? Unique, one of a kind, extraordinary humor with artistically simpatico drawings.

Quick delivery! It was a gift and my friend was thrilled.

Having never encountered Bunny Suicides before, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the relatively crowded bookstore when I found this 2007 Calendar.

The name and cover picture says it all. Be warned - this is comedy gold!

Sure it is a little dark, but in a really cute way. The bunny's expression is EVERYTHING. If the bunny was sad looking or depressed, it would ruin it... instead he exhibits a serene determination to kill himself every month of the year in very inventive ways.

I'd heard about this book and balked a little at the extra charge to get it, but it turned out to be very addictive. I was going to get started with a couple pages one morning before work last week, and by the time the day was done I was still at home, reading. Brian Williams is an easy character to relate to, and I've had similar experiences to those he's had. it's kind of disturbing what our children are doing to themselves these days. I also read a lot of mystery books, but the ending still came as a surprise to me.

This guy is fantastic. His descriptions, his dialogue and his ability to tell a story are marvelous and covertly sophisticated. The copy I read has been passed around and passed around and everyone who reads it has been really bowled over by it. Pay the additional cost, you won't regret it. I just wish he would write another book. I may go Kathy Bates and lock him up in a remote location until he finishes another novel. Thanks for writing this Ryan!

This is an excellent book, but I have to take issue with its subtitle. By 1750 Calvinism was no longer a majority opinion in Geneva, at least, not the orthodox variety that had made Geneva synonomous with Calvinism. The ideas of the enlightenment had so thoroughly affected the Reformed movement that no conclusions can be drawn from Geneva's place as the capital of calvinism and the increase in suicides there.In fact, a very good case could be made for the opposite. Although a scion of the famous Turretin family was Geneva's leading theologian at the time, it was his watering down of his father and grandfather's calvinism that he was best known for. A better subtitle would have been "Suicide after the decline of Calvinism in Geneva".

Choosing Death: Suicide And Calvinism In Early Modern Geneva by Jeffrey R. Watt (Associate Professor in History, University of Mississippi) is a thorough, scholarly, deftly presented case study of the Republic of Geneva and its history of suicide. From views of the suicide in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that regarded self-destruction as the result of demonic possession, and that harshly appropriated the property of those who took their own lives, to the late eighteenth century turn of thought that recognized the role that mental illness and personal trauma often played in suicide. Choosing Death is a fascinating, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking social history of an admittedly grim subject within the historical context of a proud and sovereign European nation.

Rowena Graham inherits the home and restaurant of her sister Claudia after Claudia’s apparent suicide, but isn’t convinced that her sister would have committed suicide. Claudia quickly leaves behind her old life as head librarian after remodeling the house that hadn’t been changed since they were children. Claudia goes to work in the upscale restaurant, wears her sister’s expensive designer clothes and shoes and drives her Mercedes.

Rowena’s relationship with Claudia had always been turbulent; Claudia was unpredictable, self-centered and often cruel. After Rowena discovers Claudia’s habit of videotaping her ... antics with a string of lovers, Rowena is even more suspicious that one of the lovers might have been involved in her death. Claudia’s former therapist, with whom she claimed she had been having an affair, takes an interest in Rowena but she is reluctant to pursue the relationship with him and somewhat suspicious of his motives.

As the secrets, lies and distortions of her family life gradually unravel, Rowena is even more disturbed with her sister and deceased, alcoholic mother. Rowena had been made to feel for years that she was the plain, ugly unsuccessful sister. Her mother lied to the children for years about the disappearance of their father after the divorce when Rowena was 7.

The book explores the devastating effects of FAE – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. With the support of some wonderful friends, Rowena starts to get her life back on track and eventually solves the mystery of Claudia’s death. As in other books by Charlotte Vale Allen, you feel you know the characters so well that they have become part of your family, and you are reluctant to leave them behind when the book ends.

I recently discovered Charlotte Vale Allen by reading "Illusions", one of her older novels. I become so deeply meshed in the story that I literally wept at the end. I was emotionally drained and in a daze! She has a way of getting inside a woman's psyche. You know in your soul that she is an expert on the subjects about which she writes. "Claudia's Shadow" follows the theme that you just never really know a person, not even your own sister. I was captivated until the very end. I highly recommend her books. I'm working my way through all them. I've not been disappointed yet and I'm on my seventh one!

Without doubt this is a must-keep reference work for any lay person or professional wishing to have readily available a host of extensively researched topics in the general field of suicidology.

Written with an academic standard refreshing and uncommon, this work - drawing upon extensive research and a team of authors - addresses nearly every topic imaginable including the following: historical changes in attitudes towards suicide; differences in motives and methods based upon one's sex, age, social class, racial-nationality-culture; communication styles of the suicide [the noun for the perpetrator]; the role of depression when coupled with hopelessness; actions that are risk-taking, life-enhancing, life-damaging but questionable as to whether they show suicidal intent; assisted suicide; to name some of the several topics so amply covered.

Psychological instruments for evaluating quality of life, suicidal ideation and other relevant topics are offered and interesting but should NOT be employed unless one has ample and competent training.

The only criticism of note is that suicide is dealt with exclusively as a malady, failing to consider (1) rational assessment and logical justification scenarios or (2)culturally supported suicide where such acts are placed in the pantheon of honorable deeds.

Aside from this minor detraction, the work merits serious study for anyone interested in this still taboo subject.

Much has been published in the suicidology field and with great value but the Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology comes to fill a gap in comprehensivness.

Encyclopedic, this book is surely an excellent resource for those who are engaged in suicide prevention and also for all health professionals who may encounter in this book the answers to some of the questions raised when confronted with a suicidal patient.

The merits goes to the three main authors, Dr. Marris, Berman and Silverman but also to their contributing authors for this excellent work.

As Director and Project manager of the Suicide & Parasuicide Web Site - The Suicidology web, we have awarded this book the title of "Book of the year 2000".