Those They Left Behind: Interviews, Stories, Essays and Poems by Survivors of Suicide [Paperback]

Karen Mueller Bryson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2006

In this collection of interviews with survivors of suicide, individuals talk candidly and intimately about how their lives have been impacted by the suicide of a family member or close friend. Over 50 individuals were willing to share their personal tragedies as a way of helping others who face a similar loss as well as educating the public about the issues survivors of suicide face. Their willingness to share their stories is a testament to their endurance and strength in the face of adversity.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karen Mueller Bryson, Ph.D. is an optioned screenwriter, produced playwright and novelist. She is also a national certified counselor and university-level educator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (October 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430307552
• ISBN-13: 978-1430307556
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Karen Mueller Bryson is an optioned screenwriter, produced playwright and published novelist. Karen has been writing since she learned to read and fell in love with books! When she's not at her computer creating new stories, Karen enjoys spending time with her husband and their bloodhounds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suicide - The Aftermath and Healing, February 8, 2007

By 

Richard R. Blake (Bridgman, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Those They Left Behind: Interviews, Stories, Essays and Poems by Survivors of Suicide (Paperback)

"Those Left Behind" is dedicated to survivors, those loved ones and family members left behind to experience their own personal tragedy and despair in the process of grieving after a loved one's completed suicide. Dr. Bryson has compiled the results of interviews with survivors of multiple suicides, of those who have lost sons and daughters, and of those who have lost parents, spouses, significant others, siblings, relatives and friends.

Each account contains a brief note of the contributor's age and current occupation. Then in their own words they relate the circumstances behind their loss, how they dealt with the bereavement process, any dreams or unusual occurrences, helpful coping methods, and a brief comment of advice or words of wisdom.

Many of those who shared their story told of the importance of support groups while dealing with the felt guilt, shame and stigma that so often accompanies the aftershock of suicide. These support groups helped the survivors deal with the questions of "what if", "why", and the remorse of "if only I had".

Others told of the importance of counseling both professional and spiritual. While hurting, feeling alone, and confused most experienced the insensitivity of well meaning people unable to identify with the suffering caused by the loss. They told of losing friends and ending close relationships.

Many described the initial shock and complete devastation they experienced. Others shared how they discovered a new awareness of the transient nature of things and the importance of not taking loved ones and life for granted.

I was especially drawn to those who shared a new found faith in God, or a deepening of their spiritual life. Nearly everyone felt an important part of their healing was being enabled and empowered to help others going through the same or similar experiences.

I was particularly impressed with the advice of one writer who summed it up this way, "The one thing I learned is there is no timeline in grieving. What you are feeling is okay. Do not try to be at a certain point in the process by a certain date/year. Let people help, you probably need it."

A young nun wrote, after the loss of her brother, "Eugene's life and death continue to invite me to a deeper understanding of my own pilgrimage in life."

Dr. Bryson has done an outstanding job of interviewing, editing and recording these stories, essays, and poems from the survivors of suicide.
This is an important book for any if the over 300,000 individuals who each year are impacted by the loss of a loved one through suicide. "Those Left Behind" should be on the reading list of everyone involved as a crisis intervention provider. The book is an excellent resource tool for first responders, trauma personnel, chaplains, ministers, and professional counselors. It should be made available to all mortuary personnel, and to all law enforcement officers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Are Not Alone, November 13, 2006

By 

D.M. Kenny (Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Those They Left Behind: Interviews, Stories, Essays and Poems by Survivors of Suicide (Paperback)

Shocking, gut-wrenching, disturbing, sad. These are the words that describe the true life events for the suvivors of a loved one who has completed suicide. Bryson has vividly put together their stories and the turmoil of how each person has survived and gone forward after the tragedy that has invaded their lives. Hopefully this book will enlighted those who have not been touched by suicide and help those who know that they "are not alone" in their grief.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comforting Book For All Of Us, April 9, 2008

By 

Story Circle Book Reviews - See all my reviews

This review is from: Those They Left Behind: Interviews, Stories, Essays and Poems by Survivors of Suicide (Paperback)

This had to be a hard book to put together. It is a hard book to read, but also it is a comforting one. The subject of suicide is never easy to think about. For those whose lives are touched by the actions of family or loved ones it is more than painful.

Author Karen Mueller Bryson knows this first hand. In the introduction to this collection she shares that her own life was permanently changed and molded by the suicide of her father when she was twenty-five.

Bryson is acutely aware of the statistics about suicide--each year in the United States more than 30,000 people choose to take their own lives. These actions profoundly change the lives of many more--those who are left behind--the focus of this collection. She chose to go beyond statistics to the "real person...writing about their experiences with tragedy and despair."

When Bryson began her search for suicide survivors (her term for those left behind) she was uncertain what the response would be. She recounts the overwhelming response. People want to tell their stories, to share their pain, and to heal in the process.

This book contains the stories of more than fifty people who have struggled with this loss. As I said, it is not an easy book to read. We ache through the stories of Ann, a woman who lost both her husband, who was 39, and almost twenty years later, her 29 year-old son, or Tracy, whose 16 year-old son took his life with a deer rifle. The losses are staggering. This is indeed tragedy, but it is also hope. As the stories unfold, there is comfort. People do indeed survive and go on with meaningful lives.

This book will be invaluable for those who have shared these tragic circumstances, but it is not for them alone. Any compassionate reader will gain from the honesty and love that imbues the stories.

Bryson has done a great service by gathering and sharing these stories. As she says in the introduction, "it helps us to read the stories of others--to know that we are not alone in our despair."
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