Resources about Suicide and Suicide Prevention

Books          Resources          Videos

Books

• A Message of Hope
    Author:  Patricia Harness-Overley
    Publisher:  Bradley Press
  A mother describes her very difficult journey following the death of her son, including her struggle with alcohol and divorce. A very honest book that tackles personal issues rarely written about.

• A Mother's Story
    Author:  Gloria Vanderbilt
    Publisher:  Random House
  This socialite author tells a tragic story and her coming to grips with her pain of losing her son to suicide with suggestions of how all of us can - and why we must - survive the worst that can happen.

• A Special Scar, The Experiences of People bereaved by Suicide
    Author:  Alison Wertheimer
    Publisher:  Tavistock/Routledge
  The author lost her sister to suicide. This book looks in detail at the stigma surrounding suicide and offers practical help for survivors. Fifty bereaved people tell their own stories, showing us that by not hiding the truth from themselves and others, they have been able to learn to live with suicide.

• And Then There Was One, Our Journey From Death To Rebirth
    Author:  Margo Williams
    Publisher:  Pooka Publishing
  The journal of a mother following the suicide death of her only child written as his thoughts also pour into the pages. This connection with Matt strengthens her belief in the life beyond the physical limits of this moment.

• After Suicide
    Author:  John H. Hewett
    Publisher:  Westminster Press
  A classic book that is outstanding in describing the experience of grief after suicide.

• Bart Speaks Out, Breaking the Silence on Suicide
    Author:  Linda Goldman, M.S.
    Publisher:  Western Psychological Services
  This interactive storybook for children gives them a road map for their grief and recovery. Bart is a vulnerable, lovable dog who serves as a role model as he openly describes his own stages of grief and recovery after the suicide death of his owner, Charlie.

• Before Their Time
    Author:  Mary & Maureen Stimming
    Publisher:  Temple University Press
  Adult children's experiences of parental suicide. A collection of first-person accounts by daughters and sons affected by parental suicide. These essays speak openly about fears, stresses, and methods of coping. Insightful and helpful.

• Ben's Story: The Depression, ADHD, and Anxiety Disorder That Caused His Suicide
    Author:  Trudy Carlson
    Publisher:  Benline Press
  A mother shares the profoundly moving story of her son's life that illustrates the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorder that led to his suicide death at age 14.

• Breaking the Silence
    Author:  Mariette Hartley
    Publisher:  Mass Market
  This sensitive and witty actress has written openly and honestly. After Mariette's father died by gunshot she and her mother kept his suicide a secret for years. Once Mariette told her story she became "the spokesperson for suicide survivors" telling her poignant story over and over to help survivors and to promote the prevention of suicide.

• Child Survivors of Suicide: A Guidebook for Those Who Care For Them
    Author:  Rebecca Parkin with Karen Dunne-Maxim
    Publisher:  NJ Chapter of American Foundation For Suicide Prevention
  This guidebook takes the reader through the first year of questions that a child might ask. The format asks the questions, gives answers and the reasons for the answers. Extremely honest, sensitive, practical and empowering.

• Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts His Own Grief
    Author:  David C. Treadway, Ph.D.
    Publisher:  Basic Books
  David's mother died by suicide and now David writes about his journey of grief after 27 years of avoidance. A profound and moving memoir revealing the many layers of pain and denial that can build up in a family after a suicide. The author finds the courage to face his ghosts, take off his protective layers and reconnect with his family.

• Do They Have Bad Days In Heaven?
    Author:  Michelle Linn-Gust, M.S.
  Michelle Linn-Gust takes the reader through the personal experience of losing her younger sister Denise Linn and weaves in the available research for sibling survivors.

• Everything To Live For
    Author:  Susan White-Bowden
    Publisher:  Poseidon Press, Simon & Schuster
  The author lost her son and husband to suicide. Deeply honest, courageous account of what happened and of the painful lessons that came to late to help her son but that can surely help others. A moving and compelling book.

• Grief After Suicide (9 page pamphlet, 50¢ each)
    Publisher:  Mental Health Association in Waukesha County, Inc.
  S22 W 22660 Broadway, Waukesha, WI 53186-8199

• Healing After the Suicide of a Loved One
    Author:  Ann Smolin CSW & John Guinan
    Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
  A very informative book that provides suicide survivors with insights into the emotional responses they may be experiencing. The authors are direct and honest as they offer support, hope, and permission to go on with life.

• His Bright Light, The Story of Nick Traina
    Author:  Danielle Steel
    Publisher:  Delacorte
  This very famous author of fiction shares the heartbreaking true story of her struggle to help her brilliant and talented manic-depressed son, Nick, find help during his troubled short life that ended in suicide in 1997 at the age of 19.

• I Wish I Was In a Lonely Meadow
    Author:  Dougy Center
  A well-done compilation of children's feelings about and experiences with suicide.

• Knowing Why Changes Nothing
    Author:  Eva Lager with Sascha Wagner
    Publisher:  Options Publishing
  Both lost daughters to suicide. A moving diary of a grieving mother struggling to grasp the awful reality of her daughter's sudden and tragic death. The joint venture of Eva and Sascha is a landmark in the literature of bereaved parents. Sascha's poetry fit perfectly with Eva's sensitive entries.

• Mourning After Suicide
    Author:  Lois a. Bloom
    Publisher:  The Pilgrim Press
  The author lost her son to suicide. This easy to read 24 page booklet is an excellent introduction for someone newly bereaved. It normalizes the grief and the reference to spirituality is gentle and non-invasive.

• My Son, My Son: A Guide To Healing After A Suicide In The Family
    Author:  Iris Bolton with Mitchell C. Bolton
    Publisher:  Bolton Press
  A therapist shares the story of the suicide of her son; a compelling, powerful and informative book about suicide, grief, survival, and hope that will profoundly touch the heart and provide new insights for every reader.

• No Time To Say goodbye, Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One
    Author:  Carla Fine
    Publisher:  Doubleday
  The author shares her own journey of grief following the suicide death of her physician husband and she also integrates the voices of others who have endured the desolation of a loved one's suicide.

• Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide
    Author:  Christopher Lucas and Henry M. Seiden, PhD.,
    Publisher:   Bantam Books
  A survivor and a psychologist offer support and advice for getting past the grief - and moving on. This book also deals with the multitude of reasons people don't talk about suicide. C. Lucas lost his mother to suicide.

• Stronger Than Death, When Suicide Touches Your Life
    Author:  Sue Chance, M.D.
    Publisher:  W. W. Norton & Co., NY
  A psychiatrist shares the life and suicide death of her only child and her personal struggle to cope with this tragic event.

• Suicide Survivors: A Guide For Those Left Behind
    Author:  Adina Wrobleski
    Publisher:  Afterwords Publishing
  Helpful and insightful for suicide survivors, honest and open, easy to read.

• Sun Can Shine Again, The
    Author:  Orrie Snyder, RN, BS, MA
  The story of a son much love. Told by his mother, this is the story of a young man's struggle with the torment of a Bi-polar illness, his felony conviction and his resultant incarceration and suicide in one of our state penal institutions. It brings the reader through the terrible pain and consequences of his illness to the grace of God's abiding and forgiving love.

• Grieving A Suicide
    Author:  Albert Y Hsu
    Publisher:  InterVarsity Press
  A loved one's search for comfort, answers and hope.  After his father's death by suicide, Albert Hsu wrestled with the intense emotional and spiritual questions surrounding suicide.  The book is biblical, well reasoned, clearly presented, thoroughly researched and very personal.

• When Suicide Comes Home: A Father's Diary And Comments
    Author:  Paul Cox
    Publisher:  Bolton Press Atlanta
  Paul Cox, a truck driver by trade, wrote this, his first book, at night sitting in the cab of his truck devastated by the suicide death of his son in 1998.  This is a man's book, emotional and candid, full of plain talk and an indomitable spirit.

• Walking Through The Valley Of The Shadow: When A Jewish Child Dies
    Author:  Mort Schrag
    Publisher:  Mort Schrag
  This beautifully designed and thoughtful booklet is a tribute to a father's love and his concern that very little is written for grieving Jewish parents.  This is a wonderful contribution.  Email sabamortla@aol.com

• Dawning Of A New Day: A Journey Out Of Darkness
    Author:  Carolyn M Deleon
    Publisher:  Inkwater Press
  This is a story of healing after a spouse's suicide death.  Using her journal writings, Carolyn shares her intimate reflections and personal experiences about walking through the valley of grief.  She shares her struggles with faith and ultimately how she came to a new day in her life.

• Eric's Story: Surviving A Son's Suicide
    Author:  Sandra Underwood
    Publisher:  Xlibris Corp.
  Sandra shares her journey of grief, depression, and hope as she deals with the death of her only son, Eric.  This book also includes family pictures and poems written by Sandra.

• Words I Never Thought To Speak, Stories of Life in the Wake of Suicide
    Author:  Victoria Alexander
    Publisher:  Lovington Books
  First person accounts of parent, child, brother, sister, spouse, lover and therapist as they struggle through the pain-laden conflicted months and years of bereavement after a suicide of a loved one.

Books          Resources          Videos

Resources

• American Association of Suicidology
  4201 Connecticut Ave, N.W.
  Ste 408
  Washington, D.C. 20008
  (202) 237-2280
  www.suicidology.org

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  120 Wall St
  22nd Floor
  New York, NY 10005
  (212) 363-3500
  www.afsp.org

• Friends for Survival, Inc
  P.O. Box 214463
  Sacramento, CA 95821
  (800) 646-7322
  www.friendsforsurvival.org

• Kristin Brooks Hope Center, National Hopeline Network
  Suicide Prevention Crisis Line and Local Referral
  Crisis Number: (800) SUICIDE or (800) 784-2433
  Business Number: (800) 442-HOPE (4673)

• Lifekeeper Foundation: Faces of Suicide Quilts
  3740 Crestcliff Ct
  Tucker, GA 30084
  (678) 937-9297
  www.lifekeeper.org

• Link Counseling Center, The
  National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare
  348 Mount Vernon Highway, N.E.
  Atlanta, GA 30328
  (404) 256-9797
  www.thelink.org

• National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide, Inc
  P.O. Box 125
  San Marcos, TX 78667
  (830) 625-3576
  www.nopcas.com

• SAVE (Suicide Awareness/Voices of Education)
  P.O. Box 24507
  Minneapolis, MN 55424
  (612) 946-7998
  www.save.org

• SPAN/USA  (Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network)
  5034 Odin's Wy
  Marietta, GA 30068
  (770) 649-1366
  www.spanusa.org

• Sibling Survivors
  www.siblingsurvivors.com

Books          Resources          Videos

Videos

• 2005 National Survivors of Suicide Day Broadcast (VHS)
    Available from AFSP

• Fatal Mistakes: Families Touched by Suicide (DVD)
    Available from AFSP

• Suicide Prevention 2000 (VHS)
    Available from AFSP

• Suicide Shouldn't Be A Secret (CD, VHS & Resource Guide for Teens)
    Available from AFSP

• Suicidal Patient, The: Assessment and Care (VHS)
    Available from AFSP

• Truth About Suicide, The: Real Stories of Depression in College (DVD or VHS)
    Available from AFSP

Add information about suicide (or make corrections) by e-mailing Suicide@Cardinalli.com.

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Alien Ware