Helpful Books For
Suicide Survivors
Suggested Reading
For Grief Recovery & Suicide Bereavement
Page 2
Seven Choices
by Elizabeth Harper Neeld, Ph.D. - Published by Delta (1990)
In this ground-breaking book, Elizabeth Harper Neeld describes the steps each of us can take to find a new balance for our lives after experiencing death, divorce, illness, as well as grief, loss and change of any kind. This book maps the complete grieving and change process and provides a way to respond to change by identifying seven positive choices that lead to a "new normal." These positive choices bring healing and stability and show how to avoid getting stuck in mourning, anger, bitterness and sadness.Silent Grief - Living in the Wake of Suicide
by Christopher Lukas & Henry M.Seiden Published by Simon & Schuster 01 February, 1988
Lukas and Seidena television writer/producer (and suicide survivor) and a clinical psychologistshow how the emotional aftermath of suicide differs from that of normal bereavement not only in duration but because of the hidden implication of responsibility and higher risk of suicide for those relatives left behind. Lay helpers will find useful the discussion of rules for listening and refocusing and the comments about prevention of romanticization and contagion among adolescent survivor peer groups. A sensible popular manual on "postvention" of suicide and the dangers of unspoken sorrow and anger, with a useful appendix on self-help and mutual-support groups.William Abrams, Portland State Univ. Lib., Ore.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Stronger Than Death: When Suicide Touches Your Life
by Sue Chance - Published by Avon Books (1992)
A psychiatrist shares the life and suicide death of her only child and her personal struggle to cope with this tragic event.
Suicide: A Christian Response
Timothy J. Demy (Editor), Gary P. Stewart (Contributor)
Publisher: Kregel Publications; (April 1998)
Editorial Reviews
Ingram
With articles by 35 notable writers and scholars, "Suicide: A Christian Response" presents the medical, ethical, legal, and personal arguments for choosing life rather than death. The contributors, active in Chicago's Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, represent a broad professional and evangelical perspective on this crucial issue.
Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, Postvention
by Earl Grollman - Published by Beacon Press (1988)
Offers advice on how to recognize the warning signs of potential suicide attempt, how to intervene when a suicide has been attempted, and how to comfort families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Suicide: Survivors: A Guide For Those Left Behind
by Adina Wrobleski - Published by Afterwords (1994)
Helpful and insightful information for suicide survivors - honest, open, and easy to read. It is probably one of the best, most accurate, books ever published on suicide/suicide grief. Adina Wrobleski is an expert on suicide, having spent many years studying the subject, after her daughter died by suicide. Reading this book might be a good "first step" for someone beginning the arduous journey of trying to work through suicide grief.
Suicide: Why?
by Adina Wrobleski
Suicide Why? is an excellent, very informative book on suicide. Adina Wrobleski, using her extensive knowledge and insight takes much of the mystery out of the most misunderstood subject. She explains, through the books question and answer format, what society must know in order to save lives. This book is also a good place for a suicide suivivor to start when trying to find answers to the many questions he/she may have after the loss of a loved one by suicide.
Survivors of Suicide
by Rita Robinson - Published by Newcastle Publishing Co. (1989)
Survivors of Suicide is a helping guide for those family and friends left behind when a loved one commits suicide. This newly revised edition goes into more detail about teen suicide and the help that is available, and dispels the myths surrounding suicide. Talking With Children About Loss
by Maria Trozzi Pulished by Beacon Press, 1990
Trozzi is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, a consultant for the child Development Unit at Children's Hospital in Boston. Her credentials and expertise have established her as one of the foremost experts on child bereavement in the country.
Hospitals, organizations and city officials often call upon Trozzi to enhance their crisis management programs. She was flown to Littleton, Colorado after the Columbine High School shooting to administer crisis management consultation to the parents, caregivers and educators of the area.
The Bereaved Parent
by Harriet Sarnoff Schiff - Published by Penguin Books (1977)
This is the classic book for parents whose child has died - and for all those who want to help them. Many such parents feel that no one can help because no one can understand the complex ramifications of their tragedy, the exhaustion, the quarrels with mates, the sleeplessness, the panic, the inertia, the horror of laughter - all the seemingly endless aftermath of sorrow and despair. Yet, because she herself is a bereaved parent, the author is able to give genuine comfort. If you have lost a child, you know that pain like yours cannot be erased, and she does not attempt to do so. Instead, she offers guidelines and practical step-by-step suggestions to help you cope with every stage. Her book will convince you that you, too, can find your way back to the land of the living.
The Courage To Grieve
by Judy Tatelbaum - Published by Harper & Row (1980)
This unusual self-help book about surviving grief offers comfort, inspiration, and provides the specific help we need to enable us to face our grief fully and to recover and grow from the experience. The author gives us a fresh look at understanding grief, showing us that grief is a natural, inevitable human experience, including all the unexpected, intense and uncomfortable emotions like sorrow, guilt, loneliness, resentment, confusion, or even the temporary loss of the will to live. The emphasis is to clarify and offer help, and the tone is spiritual, optimistic, creative and easy to understand. She provides excellent advice on how to help oneself and others get through the immediate experience of death and the grief that follows, as well as how to understand the special grief of children. Particularly useful are the techniques for completing or "finishing" grief--counteracting the popular misconception that grief never ends. The Courage to Grieve shows us how to live life with the ultimate courage: not fearing death. This book is about so much more than death and grieving - it is about life and joy and growth.
The Enigma of Suicide
by George How Colt Publisher: Touchstone Books (04/01/1992)
Results from a 10 year investigation on the problem of suicide. Includes first person accounts with sections on: Adolescent Suicide; History; The Range of Self-Destructive Behavior; Prevention; The Right to Die and Survivors.The Grief Recovery Handbook
by James & Friedman - Published by HarperCollins (1998)
Incomplete recovery from grief can have a lifelong negative effect on your capacity for happiness. Drawing from their own histories, as well as from others, the authors illustrate what grief is and how it is possible to recover, regain energy and spontaneity. Based on a proven program, this life-changing handbook offers the specific actions needed to complete the grieving process and accept the loss.
The Savage God - A Study of Suicide
by A. Alvarez Pulished by W.W. Norton & Company September, 1990 Paperback
A study of the historical, literary, philosophical dimensions of the mystery of suicide.
In The Savage God A. Alvarez looks at suicide from the perspective of literature to see how and why "it colors the imaginative world of creative people." To this problem, Mr.Alvarez provides no single answer. Time itself presents a layer of complexity that prevents the satisfying simplicity of a single explantory theory. Yet, in the post-Romantic/Classic era, the contours of an answer can be found that accounts for the suicidal pull today. Art in the modern era enjoys a less restricted scope than that of the classical world; the result is art that is more confrontational. What we find today is that "the more directly an artist confronts the confusions of experience the greater the demands on his intelligence, control and watchfulness." Present always is the risk of being overwhelmed by what one knows, or thinks known. Suicide colors the world of creative people precisely because their confrontation with experience is today inherently risky business. This does not hold for the Surrealists, determined as they were to lighten our load by mocking it, but for the "Extremist Poets," as Alvarez calls them, committed to a "psychic exploration out along the friable eduge which divides the tolerable from the intolerable..." it remains a threatening cloud.It has been over 30 years since the first appearance of The Savage God. Parts of the book show its age. A modern discussion would feature less Freud and more on neurotransmitters, and pharmacological findings. Moreover, it is very clear that Alvarez set the bar too high, attempting in the compass of a small book to survey the history of societal attitudes toward suicide while keeping individual artists, presumably representative of underlying attitudinal currents, in focus at all times. Yet, The Savage God still has its readers and has come to have the status of a standard reference on this dark subject. One reason for its continued appeal is that Alvarez brings to his discussion of actual suicides and suicidal tendencies an uncommonly rich level of thinking, understanding and compassion. His openining chapter on Sylvia Plath, his exposition on Chatterton, and his analysis of that movement toward negation, Dada, carry an insightfulness frequently missing from today's dry, case-history recitals. This is not a book that tries to duplicate the sterile language of a metropolitan hospital's clinical round. Personally I found the chapter on Plath overwhelmingly sad. The cover of paperback edition of her unabridge Journals carries on its cover a picture of Ms. Plath -- a youthful, optimistic young woman, with a wonderfully wide smile and bright, magnetic eyes. Mr. Alavarez knew her personally. His account of her time in London hammers home the tragedy of an artist who lost her footing on that "friable edge." This is a book which, once read, stays with you.
The Suicidal Mind
Edwin S. Shneidman Pub. Date: Mar 1998, Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr
"The Suicidal Mind" brims with insights into the suicidal impulse and with helpful suggestions for counteraction methods. Throughout, Dr. Edwin Shneidman offers practical, explicit maneuvers to assist in treating a suicidal individual--steps that can be taken by concerned friends or family and professionals alike.
The Suicide Of My Son
by Trudy Carlson - published by Benline Press (1995)
After the suicide death of her teenage son Ben, Trudy Carlson sheds light into the little-understood symptoms of depressive illness and anxiety disorders in youngsters. She explains the biological nature of these conditions, and maps out a low-cost, effective school based program for recognizing and treating school-aged youth. The correlation between depressive illness and teen suicide is examined. To Heal Again
Rusty Berkus," with illustrations by Christa Wollan Publisher: Red Rose Pr (07/01/1986)
A beautiful, simple book granting us permission to grieve. "By surrendering into our pain and trusting the Spirit within to do the work, we open ourselves to the miracle of healing."
Touched by fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperamant
by Kay Redfield Jamison Pub. Date: Oct 1996, Publisher: Simon & Schuster
From the author of the New York Times bestseller, An Unquiet Mind, Touched with Fire is an authoritative look at the relationship between manic-depressive illness and the artistic temperament. Psychiatrist Jamison advocates a restrained, humanistic approach to treatment that does not "cure" the disorder at the expense of artistic inspiration.
Transcending Loss
Ashely Davis Prend - Published by Berkley Books (1997)
An inspiring new approach to the lifelong process of grieving. The author asserts that death doesn't end the relationship, it simply forges a new type of relationship -- one based not on physical presence but on memory, spirit, and love. The author helps grievers deal with the ongoing impact of their loss -- and the attempt to transcend it. While most books often focus on crisis management and imply that there is an 'end' to mourning, they essentially fail to address the issue of grief's ongoing impact, and how it changes through the years. This is a book about death and grief, yes, but more importantly it is a book about love, hope and shows that over time, you can learn to transcend even in spite of pain. We all get broken by life sooner or later because loss is the price we pay for living and loving. But experience shows that we can become stronger at the broken places and find the opportunity in crisis. This book will help you move beyond grief and will guide you on your journey through time of healing and transcendence.
Understanding, Coping, and Growing Through Grief
by Collection of Authors - published by HOPE FOR BEREAVED, 4500 Onandaga Blvd., Syracuse, NY 13219 (1995)
A book of helpful articles written by bereaved people for bereaved people and those who want to help them. A superb gift to give to bereaved; helpful to have on hand for resource library.Understanding Depression - A Complete Guide to Its Diagnosis & Treatment
by Donald F. Klein, M.D. & Paul H. Wender, M.D.
Understanding Depression was written by two psychiatrists who have been researching psychiatric disorders, and treating patients for close to thirty years. Their knowledge, and the information in this book, is based on hard scientific data, which supports the fact that depression and other related mood disorders are common biological diseases which, most of the time, must be treated with a combination of medication and psychotherapy to relieve and/or eliminate the symptoms.
The doctors differentiate between what they call depression - the normal emotion, as in the case of the normal grief process, where most people, although "depressed', still continue to function and where feelings of normalcy eventually return and biological depression, an illness, which in many cases is a chronic disease, with specific sysmptoms and several common patterns. The authors stress that a qualified biological psychiatrist is the best person to consult in order to confirm an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
This is an excellent book. The patient profiles help the reader understand the effects this insidious disease can have on peoples lives. The authors state that "the ability to recognize depressive illness in yourself or loved ones may be a matter of life and death." That statement certainly cannot be disputed. The book goes on to discuss causes, diagnosis and treatment, and psychopharmacological drugs.
Understanding Grief
by Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt - published by Accelerated Development Inc. (1992)
A compassionate guide to coping with the death of someone loved, this book helps bereaved people move toward healing by encouraging them to explore their unique journeys into grief and mourning. Throughout, readers are sked specific questions about their grief journeys and encouraged to think about and write down their responses. For support group leaders, the book also includes a nine-session support group model that draws on the earlier chapters in the book for readings and writing exercises.
When A Friend Dies: A Book For Teens About Grieving & Healing
By Marilyn Gootman Publisher: Minneapolis : Free Spirit, ©1994
If you are grieving the death of a friend, do something for yourself. Take the time to read this book. It isn't very long--there aren't a lot of words--but you may find the help you need to cope with your sadness and begin to heal. Author Marilyn Gootman has seen her own children suffer from the death of a friend, and she knows what teenagers go through when another teen dies. Let her genuine understanding, gentle advice, and compassionate wisdom guide you through the next few days, weeks, or months. If you're a parent or teacher of a teen who has experienced a painful loss, this book is for you, too.When Dinosaurs Die
By Marc Tolon Brown, Laurie Krasny Brown Publisher: Little Brown & Co April 1996
Explaining death to a child is never easy for an adult, but the Browns' book really helps. You'll find difficult concepts made much simpler with colorful illustrations that remind the child of the "Arthur" cartoon series which the author also created.The kids with whom I have worked professionally have loved the little green dinosaurs who experience and express the same thoughts and feelings. When I talked to my daughter's preschool class a few years back after the class hamster died, I used parts of this book in my explanation.The brilliance of the Browns' concept is that one doesn't have to read the book straight through. A parent or teacher can choose to use two or three pages. In fact, each two-page spread tends to develop a specific concept such as funerals, cause of death, what death means, etc.As a matter of fact, this would be a nice addition to elementary school libraries and classrooms, especially when discussing the death part of their living things science units.It's interesting in my own professional library that this book takes its place right along with all of the academic volumes on death, bereavement, and counseling theory!
When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens (Teen-Focused Coping Skills)
by Bev Cobain Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing; (July 1, 1998)
In 1994, rock star Kurt Cobain ended his struggle with depression and drugs by taking his own life. Bev is Kurt's cousin. This book is her way of making sense of his death and reaching out to teens who are sad, discouraged, and/or depressed. Whether you are a teen or an adult who cares for and about young people, this book will help you learn to identify the signs of real depression and get help.
Depression is present in at least 70% of suicides. This book can help you to save lives, and help kids to live happily in todays' daily chaos. Why Suicide?
by Eric Marcus - Published by HarperCollins (1996)
A nonjudgemental guide for people whose lives have been touched by suicide. It offers practical answers to such related concerns as what to tell others, preventability, and what to do with suicidal feelings. Words I Never Thought to Speak
by Victoria Alexander Publisher: New York : Toronto : New York : Lexington Books ; Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; Maxwell Macmillan International, ©1991.
First person accounts of people's struggles after a loss by suicide.
35 Ways To Help A Grieving Child
by The Dougy Center Dougy Center; (October 25, 1999)
If you know a child or teen who has experienced a death, this guidebook presents you with simple and practical suggestions for how to support him or her. Learn what behaviors and reactions to expect from children at different ages, ways to create safe outlets for children to express their thoughts and feelings and how to be supportive during special events such as the memorial service, anniversaries and holidays.
 
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