A Sadly Troubled History: The Meanings of Suicide in the Modern Age (McGill-Queen's/Associated Medical Services Studies in History of Medicine, Health, & Society (Hardc) [Hardcover]

John C. Weaver (Author)

Book Description

Series: McGill-Queen's/Associated Medical Services Studies in History of Medicine, Health, & Society (Hardc | Publication Date: April 2009

More people die by suicide each year than by homicide, wars, and terrorist attacks combined. Witnesses and survivors are left perplexed and troubled. Doctors, clinical psychologists, and social workers try to deal with it through their professional routines; sociologists and psychiatrists attempt to provide theoretical explanations of it. In a study of nearly 7000 suicides from 1900 to 1950, John Weaver documents the challenges that ordinary people experienced during turbulent times and, using witnesses' testimony, death bed statements, and suicide notes, reconstructs individuals' thoughts as they decide whether to endure their suffering. Bridging social and medical history, Weaver presents an intellectual and political history of suicide studies, a revealing construction and deconstruction of suicide rates, a discussion of gender, life stages, and socio-economic circumstances in relation to suicide patterns, reflections on reasoning processes and intent, and society's reactions to suicide, including medical intervention. "A Sadly Troubled History" marshals thousands of suicide inquests, replete with observations on the anxieties of unemployment, the heartbreak of romantic disappointment, the pain of domestic turmoil, and the torments of mental illness, to demonstrate that history - although, like biochemistry, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, reliant on remarkable yet imperfect information - can contribute to a better understanding of the suicidal act and its motives.

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About the Author

John C. Weaver is University Professor at McMaster University, and the author of The Great Land Rush and the Making of the Modern World, 1650-1900.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 447 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (April 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773535136
• ISBN-13: 978-0773535138
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,648,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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