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"Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated," writes Kay Redfield Jamison. "There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly." Jamison has studied manic-depressive illness and suicide both professionally--and personally. She first planned her own suicide at 17; she attempted to carry it out at 28. Now professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she explores the complex psychology of suicide, especially in people younger than 40: why it occurs, why it is one of our most significant health problems, and how it can be prevented. Jamison discusses manic-depression, suicide in different cultures and eras, suicide notes (they "promise more than they deliver"), methods, preventive treatments, and the devastating effects on loved ones. She explores what type of person commits suicide, and why, and when. She illustrates her points with detailed anecdotes about people who have attempted or committed suicide, some famous, some ordinary, many of them young. Not easy reading, either in subject or style, but you'll understand suicide better and be jolted by the intensity of depression that drives young people to it. --Joan Price
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Providing historical, scientific and other helpful material on suicide, Jamison (An Unquiet Mind), a Johns Hopkins psychiatry professor, makes an excellent contribution to public understanding with this accessible and objective book. There is, she asserts, a suicide every 17 minutes in this country. Identifying suicide as an often preventable medical and social problem, Jamison focuses attention on those under 40 (suicides by those who are older often have different motivations or causes). Citing research that suicide is most common in individuals with mental illness (diagnosed or not), particularly depression and manic depression, she clearly describes the role of hormones and neurotransmitters as well as potential therapies, including lithium and other antidepressants. Jamison presents fascinating facts about suicide in families and in twins, gender disparities, and the impact of the seasons and times of day. She also provides poignant portraits of those who have committed suicideAfrom the explorer Meriwether Lewis to a high-achieving Air Force Academy graduateAas well as stories from her own experience. Historical perspective on how different societies have viewed suicide gives context, especially on methods and common locales (in the U.S., San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge is the most popular spot). Critical of her profession for not recognizing suicidal tendencies more readily, Jamison scolds the media and firearms industry as well. The book effectively brings suicide out of the closet, gives general readers insight into symptoms and should increase national awareness of the problem. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent,
By A Customer
This review is from: Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide (Paperback)
This book is excellent. I would recommend this anybody, even people who have not experienced suicide directly. She has a most interesting way of capturing her audience and bringing awareness to a topic that is not always easy to deal with.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get The Book Before It Is Too Late,
By A Customer
This review is from: Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide (Paperback)
Unfortunately I was not made aware of this book until after my wife had committed suicide. This book should be read by everyone who has a loved one suffering from depression or manic-depressive illness. Ignore the statistics and concentrate on how you can help your loved one. If the statistics tell you anything, it is that not 100% of ill people commit suicide. I believe there can be positive results if you are aware of the danger signs and understand the deep, dark shadow that engulfs someone suffering from the mental illnesses. I only gave the book four stars because I think the message could do without the statistics (maybe in an appendix)
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
okay for suicide stories, but scattered insights,
By J from NY (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide (Paperback)
kay redfield jamison is an interesting writer, in fact i think that even if she wasn't a doctor she would be probably be famous, but that just isn't enough when you're looking for something objective and clinical. she puts anne sexton, graham greene, and a few statistics (and generic 'suicidal intent' diagrams throughout the book--you can find these on any webpage) together along with some fascinating and morbid stories of really bizarre suicides (a guy burning himself to death on a bed of straw and getting up and documenting it periodically to prove that suicides aren't cowards. wow.) her personal story of attempted suicide is all too easy; she swallowed lithium in a moment of despair, called someone for help and within three weeks was in church 'realizing that god did not mean for her to die'. nothing really coheres, and one gets the sense of a sort of collage of poetic sentiments about the irrevocably lost and genuine pity with some pseudo clinical information thrown in. jamison needs to draw a firm line between her creative work and her scientific work.depressing, sad, interesting and mostly useless. read it as a novelty if you're feeling morbid.
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