The Suicide of My Son: The Story of Childhood Depression [Paperback]

Trudy Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

After the suicide death of her teenage son Ben, author and lecturer Trudy Carlson sheds light into the little-understood symptoms of depressive illness and anxiety disorders in youngsters. Using her son's dual condition as example, she takes a reasonable, no-fault approach to explain 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. A fresh approach and practical guide for parents and teachers everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In sharing your very personal and painful story with the rest of us, you enlighten the general public regarding the many dimensions of the tragedy of suicide which, unfortunately, is increasing among young people today. " -- Rosanne Biever, mother of four

"Well written and thoughtful. An interesting personal account of the symptoms of depression and anxiety that precedes her son's suicide. Carlson has done a very nice job of covering a difficult subject." -- Dr. Carrie Borchardt, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota

PARENTS "Insightful, educational yet easy to understand. Interesting and comforting. The purpose of this book is to reduce the unnecessary pain of depression for the individual as well as for their family and friends who also feel the effect of this condition -- a most profound goal. " -- Monica Natzel, mother of a 15 year old suicide victim

TEACHERS "Trudy Carlson's account of Ben's struggle with depression is a very helpful book. Even before its publication, I have recommended it to the parents and teachers I know who are struggling with similar problems in their families and classrooms. " -- Jo Stewart M.S., English Teacher and Speech Coach

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS "The Suicide of My Son is a beautiful example of parent insight, dedication, and understanding. Trudy's description of her personal experience with tragedy and suffering, gives a unique opportunity for parents and professionals of various fields to further their understanding of depression and suicide. My hearty endorsement and gratitude for this book. " -- Jerome Kwako M.D., Fellow American Academy of pediatrics; Director, ADHD Clinic, Miller Dwan Hospital; Director, Comprehensive Clinic for Children with Handicaps

What causes a young person to commit suicide? Carlson's story of her son's death surveys symptoms, warning signs, and the effects of a family battling childhood depression. This is more than a personal story of suicide and change: it provides parents struggling with difficult children with guidelines for prevention and recovery. -- Midwest Book Review

From the Back Cover

The book for everyone who asks, "What causes a young person to take his ownlife?" A must read for anyone interested in the emotional problems plaguingtoday's youth.

An important book forParents wanting to know if their child or any child they love is at risk of hurting themselves. Suicide happens in good families, to sensitive loving children of devoted parents as well as to families in crisis. Teachers wanting to develop effective programs for the 39% of young people today who experience a mild to severe case of depression. This book describes effectively methods of helping youth to cope with their problems.

Health Care Professionals wanting to identify the symptoms associated with high risk of self-injurious behavior. Current research points to heightened anxiety along with depression as an important indicator of risk. This book suggests a program and addresses treatment of anxiety as well as depression.

Students wanting to understand the symptoms of depression as they appear in theyoung. Although depression is essentially the same illness regardless of age, depression looks differently in children and adolescents than it does in adults.

You have to publish your book. If more people would be familiar with how to treat young bipolar patients with small amounts of lithium, it would reduce the death rate enormously.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross M.D. This book is important for every parent and teacher to read. It is a first-handaccount of a youngster's death by suicide. It's profound message is a first step toward understanding and saving other youngsters. Barry D. Garfinkel, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C) Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical School, Univerisity of Minnesota

Trudy Carlson, M.S. operates small health care facilities. She taught university classes in child, adolescent and developmental psychology; the psychology of the exceptional child, personality and mental hygiene and others. Her fourteen-year-old son committed suicide.

Through the profoundly moving story of one victim's life, the author illustrates the symptoms of depression and anxiety disorder in young persons. Any adult interested in the youth of today will find this book enlightening.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Benline Pr; 1st edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964244314
• ISBN-13: 978-0964244313
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,536,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A revision of title may be in order, March 18, 2007

By 

M. Carlson (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Suicide of My Son: The Story of Childhood Depression (Paperback)

The first half of this book dealt with the story itself including the suicide and the life of the author's son `Ben'. The second half covered the different mood disorders that afflicted Ben and methods of treatment.

There is one basic reason I gave this book four of five stars. This book did not talk about childhood depression. In brief areas throughout the text the author hinted to depression and a manic depressive (bi-polar) illness. However the majority of the text and history provided of Ben's life was about his ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disorders. The author ranted for many chapters about how she tried to help him with his studies and how school was a problem for him and how she wanted Ben to do better in school, but he was not getting the assistance he needed. Long story short, she focused the primary emphasis of her text on his learning disabilities and not on his chronic depression or manic-depressive disorders, which in the end were the causes of his suicide. Based on these facts I would rate this book lower, however it did do a much better job in the second half of the book with thorough descriptions of the various mental disorders for diagnosis purposes and treatment methods as well as a section for suicide awareness and avoidance.

If you want a book which describes the trials and tribulations of a child with various mental health issues, buy this book.

If you want a book about suicide prevention, or a book with an in-depth look at adolescent depression or manic depressive (bi-polar) mood disorders than look else where because this book falls short in these areas.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're only going to read one book....., January 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Suicide of My Son: The Story of Childhood Depression (Paperback)

As the mother of a teen suicide myself, I highly recommend this book. For those of you who are grieving from the same tragedy, it will answer many of your "Why" questions. And for those who have loved ones suffering from depression or bipolar disorder, you will learn how you may prevent their suicide. All depressed and bipolar people are at high risk for suicide. Trudy eloquently describes how triggers may prompt a suicide but mental illness causes it. She also describes quite accurately many of the confusing behaviors these individuals display: anger from limit-setting, logical leaps that are hard to follow, and a jovial attitude when experiencing deep pain. She did a marvelous job in her discussion of the relationship between loss and depression. This book also includes a detailed section on medications that I've seen in no other book like it. A must read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for teachers!, November 14, 1998

By 

iwaveatcows "iwaveatcows" (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Suicide of My Son: The Story of Childhood Depression (Paperback)

When the teachers can't figure out what's wrong and it keeps on and on in a downward spiral, maybe they are overlooking something. Carlson's book keys in on what can be considered as a "perfect recipe" for suicide. Teachers need to be aware that there is more out there that bad grades or bad behavior. Trudy Carlson compels one to dig deeper and to gain a clear understanding of what children with multiple disabilities suffer on a daily basis, clearly bringing to light that "at risk students" are a special population that needs to be taken seriously and respected before they are lost, lost forever.