After her mother took her own life, Wendy Parmley learned firsthand the heartache, despair, and loneliness that accompanies suicide loss. Reinvent your definition of saved, perfect, and forgiveness as you read this true narrative of a woman opening her heart years after her mother's suicide and learn how to overcome any loss in your own life.
Whether you are struggling with fresh grief at a loved one’s death by suicide or your loss happened years ago, you should know that you are not alone. 5 million Americans are affected—directly or indirectly—by this tragedy each year. And it sends us on a lifelong search for answers, both to the practical questions and the deepest question of all: Why? In this definitive guide book, Michael F. Myers, MD, a leading psychiatrist, and Carla Fine, author of the acclaimed No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One, combine their perspectives as a physician and a survivor to offer compassionate and practical advice to anyone affected by suicide.
Albert Y. Hsu wrestles with emotional and spiritual questions surrounding suicide, ultimately pointing survivors to the God who offers comfort in our grief and hope for the future. This revised edition now includes a discussion guide for suicide survivor groups.
For anyone who has experienced the suicide of a loved one, coworker, neighbor, or acquaintance and is seeking information about coping with such a profound loss, this compassionate guide explores the unique responses inherent to their grief. Using the metaphor of the wilderness, the book introduces 10 touchstones to assist the survivor in this naturally complicated and particularly painful journey. The touchstones include opening to the presence of loss, embracing the uniqueness of grief, understanding the six needs of mourning, reaching out for help, and seeking reconciliation over resolution. Learning to identify and rely on each of these touchstones will bring about hope and healing.
Surviving suicide loss is often about telling the story. Each person who dies by suicide leaves behind a life shared with loved ones and a series of events that led to the suicide. Seeking Hope: Stories of the Suicide Bereaved features the stories of fourteen people in their own words of the losses that have forever changed their lives. These stories describe the endurance of travelingthrough grief. In addition, the proceeds from the book benefit a fund for suicide bereavement research at the American Association of Suicidology. The goal is that the stories shared here will help others who also must travel the same journey seeking hope after a devastating loss.
A suicide leaves behind more victims than just the individual. And yet there are very few professional resources that provide the necessary background, research, and tools to effectively work with the survivors. This edited volume addresses the need for an up-to-date, professionally oriented summary of the clinical and research literature on the impact of suicide bereavement on survivors.
Explaining the important difference between grief and mourning, this book explores every mourner's need to acknowledge death and embrace the pain of loss. Also explored are the many factors that make each person's grief unique and the many normal thoughts and feelings mourners might have. Questions of spirituality and religion are addressed as well. The rights of mourners to be compassionate with themselves, to lean on others for help, and to trust in their ability to heal are upheld. Journaling sections encourage mourners to articulate their unique thoughts and feelings.
"A much-needed manual for all who attempt to counsel troubled souls battling despair." --Bob Russell, Retired Senior Pastor, Southeast Christian Church Every single day, someone you know is thinking about committing suicide. It isn't just one or two--ten million Americans will consider killing themselves in the upcoming year. Dr. Matthew Sleeth believes Christians--and our churches--should be the first to offer hope. Are we prepared to do so? As a physician and minister, Dr. Sleeth shares his personal and professional experiences with depression and suicide, challenging Christians to become part of the solution. With sound medical principles finding their rightful place beside timeless biblical wisdom, Hope Always offers the practical and spiritual tools that individuals, families, and churches need to help loved ones who are stressed and struggling. In Hope Always, you will find research-based and scientifically grounded information about the suicide epidemic, biblically based information to start a conversation about the spiritual and emotional battles that so many of us face, and a practical toolkit to consult when a loved one is dealing with suicidal ideation. After reading Hope Always, you will have the resources at your fingertips to build communities of hope that help save lives!
From the chief medical correspondent of ABC News, an eloquent, heartbreaking, yet hopeful memoir of surviving the suicide of a loved one, examining this dangerous epidemic and offering first-hand knowledge and advice to help family and friends find peace. Jennifer Ashton, M.D., has witnessed firsthand the impact of a loved one’s suicide. When her ex-husband killed himself soon after their divorce, her world—and that of her children—was shattered. Though she held a very public position with one of the world’s largest media companies, she was hesitant to speak about the personal trauma that she and her family experienced following his death. A woman who addresses the public regularly on intimate health topics, she was uncertain of revealing her devastating loss—the most painful thing she’d ever experienced. But with the high-profile suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, Dr. Ashton recognized the importance of talking about her experience and the power of giving voice to her grief. She shared her story with her Good Morning America family on air—an honest, heartbreaking revelation that provided comfort and solace to others, like her and her family, who have been left behind. In Life After Suicide, she opens up completely for the first time, hoping that her experience and words can inspire those faced with the unthinkable to persevere. Part memoir and part comforting guide that incorporates the latest insights from researchers and health professionals, Life After Suicide is both a call to arms against this dangerous, devastating epidemic, and an affecting story of personal grief and loss. In addition, Dr. Ashton includes stories from others who have survived the death of a loved one by their own hand, showing how they survived the unthinkable and demonstrating the vital roles that conversation and community play in recovering from the suicide of a loved one. The end result is a raw and revealing exploration of a subject that’s been taboo for far too long, providing support, information, and comfort for those attempting to make sense of their loss and find a way to heal.