Waking up, Alive [Abridged, Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Richard A. Heckler (Performer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

"Sometimes I feel like crying, but the tears just don't come...."
"I had no idea there was a state of mind like this. Everything turned black...."
"It was a zombie place where I just couldn't be a part of anything...."
These are the words of survivors who have lived through one of the most insidious conditions of our time: the desire to die. Five million Americans have attempted suicide. Every seventeen minutes, one of them succeeds. And the numbers continue to grow.
Through fifty startling interviews with suicide survivors of all ages and backgrounds, psychologist Richard A. Heckler takes us into the very heart of despair, documenting the varied paths that lead to that crucial place where one's world seems to stretch, tear, and then break apart. In these intimate accounts we begin to understand the determination and clarity of that fatal choice. But after the failed attempt, healing is possible. For the first time, with great care and penetrating insight, Heckler traces the heroic patterns of recovery. By offering clear, profound portraits of hope, this extraordinary and unprecedented book attests to the resilience of the human spirit, by bearing witness to those who stood at death's door, and found the courage to live.
"It's hard to imagine a hopeful or inspiring book on suicide until you begin reading the astonishing Waking Up, Alive."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"In this sensitive book, Richard Heckler brings compassionate light to a shadowy corner of our psyche."
--Ram Dass
Author of Journey of Awakening
"These moving accounts, written with a great heart of compassion, have a deeply healing effect on the ocean of human tears. This is a wise and ultimately life-affirming work!"
--Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.
Author of A Path With Heart

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Psychology professor Heckler interviewed 50 attempted suicides for this study of the process of emotional recovery in those who have attempted to kill themselves.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

For the attempter, suicide is a solution. But for the loved ones left behind-and by one conservative estimate at least 3.5 million Americans today are survivors of a loved one's suicide-it is an enigma that has to be solved. Director of the Hakomi Institute of San Francisco and a professor of counseling, Heckler examines the events and experiences of people who have attempted and recovered from a suicide and then gone on to lead rewarding and meaningful lives. The author interviewed 50 such individuals and through a representative selection of stories describes their common experiences of loss and subsequent pain. In a sort of anatomy of recovery, Heckler offers sensitive descriptions for each case and applies much of his knowledge of wellness research to the discussions. With their in-depth view of the cycle of events leading to suicide and the recovery, these poignant stories can move any reader toward greater understanding of the suicidal person. Photographer and former teacher Kuklin (Speaking Out: Teenagers Take on Race, Sex, and Identity, Putnam, 1993) focuses on the thoughts and feelings experienced by suicide survivors-defined as not only the person who attempted suicide but also their family and friends. Through a series of vignettes that capture the essence of how each person reacted, two questions asked often by survivors are addressed-Why? and What if? The targeted audience is primarily young adult readers. The issue of suicide is appropriately dealt with on this level by including such related issues as drug and alcohol involvement, responses of classmates and teachers, sexuality, and the stigma of suicide. Other books of merit and interest include George Howe Colt's The Enigma of Suicide (LJ 4/15/91), which provides a more comprehensive perspective on all aspects of suicide, and Cynthia Copeland Lewis's Teen Suicide: Too Young To Die (Enslow, 1994), which provides more comprehensive coverage for the young adult audience. Still, though neither Heckler nor Kuklin are first-choice selections, they deserve a place in all types of libraries since no one book has yet qualified as the definitive and all-purpose source to the phenomenon of suicide. (Photographs not seen for Kuklin's book.)-Dana L. Brumbelow, Auburn P.L., Ala.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated; abridged edition edition (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564553612
• ISBN-13: 978-1564553614
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,868,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This One Hits It Exactly....., February 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Waking Up, Alive (Paperback)

Having the disorder of depression; and teetering in and out of suicidal thoughts; I went in search of a book which explained what I was going through. After reading several books, I came across this one. THIS IS IT ! It is the ONLY book I have found that "gets it". I have bought 5 copies - one by one - and have loaned them all out to friends and therapists whom I wanted to really understand what I was going through.

This book was almost an obsession....I HAD to keep reading it. It also managed to give me some hope when I didn't think it was possible and wasn't looking for any.

I'd buy a copy to keep for myself, but I can't find one....This one needs to be put back into print ! It may save lives.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out of the Valley of the Shadow, October 2, 2000

By 

William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waking Up Alive (Hardcover)

Almost every book about suicide focuses on its causes, often chronicling the final descent of its victims. This heartfelt study does something different and long overdue - it examines the lives of "failed" suicides and lets them describe how they emerged from of the seemingly bottomless darkness that nearly claimed them. Harrowing in its depiction of the pain that fills the suicidal mind, deeply moving in its stories of overcoming that pain and living beyond it, this book is an invaluable resource. By the time you turn the last page, hope will be even more tangible to you than despair. A book that should be kept permanently in print.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" read for anyone touched in any way by sucide., January 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Waking Up, Alive (Paperback)

Only 6 weeks after my own suicide attempt I read this book in the hope it would help me to understand this enourmous self destruction I had attempted. This books uses "real" people case stories (ones just like me!)and helped me understand that it wasn't my life I wanted to end but the pain and sufferring I had been enduring. Nothing else I had read put the overwhelming feelings I had experienced in to a readable understandable format. Richard Heckler went one step further, he gave me hope, as I continued to read, he showed me how other people had restored their lives and returned to life. It was his words that encouraged me to seeks the help I knew I needed. Now 18 months later I have completed my own trip - "The descent to sucide and the return to life".