Customer Reviews

Why People Die by Suicide

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Thomas Joiner is one of the leading scientific experts on suicide. This is certainly reflected in his excellent review of major theories and evidence---but what strikes me throughout the book is how compassionate, how human and how personal his own story is. He begins the book by noting that his father died by suicide. Throughout his discussions of the research on suicide--which Joiner handles with great skill-- he comes back to remind us that suicide is about someone's parent, brother, sister, child or friend. Suicide has been a topic of research interest since Durkheim advanced his theory of "altruistic" suicide and anomie. Indeed, Joiner's review of the research appears to support this classic theory. Individuals more likely to kill themselves are either feeling like a burden to others (thus, the "altruistic" model) or that they are so detached that they do not "belong". These are certainly issues that we must all keep in mind with an ageing population---of people who may feel that they are a burden. Joiner urges us to recognize that this "perception" is almost always a distortion--- but it may feel real to the suicidal person. Moreover,Joiner clearly shows that suicidal risk is increased as the individual repeats self-injury--- cutting, bruising, dangerous activities, even tatooing. As the individual becomes more accustomed to being in control of his or her pain, suicide becomes the next step on a slippery slope. Of course, other models stress the importance of hopelessness, depression or substance abuse as predictors--and, although Joiner argues these are secondary to belongingness and burden--- those of us (as therapists) working with suicidal people need to attend to all of the precursors. I hope that this excellent, compassionate, very personal but also very scientific book gets a wide readership. It may be difficult to read "about suicide" but it may help you either understand why someone you know may have committed suicide--or, even better, it may help you support someone and help them stay alive. Bravo to Joiner for writing this book.

This book is just an excellent combination of personal and academic. It is very well written. It has got substance and depth to it. It breaks some new ground.

Family and friends of people who have died by suicide, who know the emotional wreckage it leaves behind, who know that suicide is a sum producer of much more pain that it solves, are more not less likely to do it themselves. Why?

Partly, "people desire death when two fundamental needs are frustrated to the point of extinction; namely, the need to belong with and connect to others, and the need to feel effective with or to influence others." Well, for survivors, the second part of this has been pretty well challenged. The first part gets challenged too: the topic is still somewhat taboo, despite that everyone knows that talking about it is important, there is real difficulty to it. Connection, on the issue, takes work.

The ideas and the feelings expressed in this book come across as real and true and well grounded. I thank Thomas Joiner for writing it.

My boyfriend committed suicide four months ago. I have been tormented by almost every single bad human emotions you can think of. I have purchased almost every single books here on amazon regarding suicide. Obviously, I am desperately in need of finding answers to comfort me, to help me cope with the incredible loss.
This book is amazing. It answered almost all my questions.
If you are a suicide survivor who lost a loved one to suicide, I highly recommend this book. It will comfort you and perhaps you can finally let go of the unnecessary guilt.

An insightful exploration of the phenomenon of death by suicide. It will help both those who have been bereaved by suicide, and those who wish to understand why their loved one might be at risk.

Be aware, though, that the book doesn't seek to give you a detailed practical plan for intervention.

Dr. Joiner presents a new approach that our mental health crisis hotline center has found extremely compelling. Previous theories did not seem to adequately explain the acute ambivalence experienced by many who end their lives by suicide. I believe the concepts of suicidal desire and suicidal capability will change the field of suicide assessment and intervention and create a more compassionate, effective approach.

I'm a grad student working on adolescent suicide. While updating my theoretical framework I ordered the book as soon as it was made available (mainly because I knew Joiner from authoring many journal articles on the subject and thus anticipated expertise and scope in his work). I was not disappointed. Joiner takes the neofite and the scholar into a different perspective on suicide: understanding and learning from empirical evidence as well as professional (and personal) experience. Clearly, a well-structured effort to destigmatize the issue of identifying warning signs and being able to intervene effectively whether your are a concerned relative or friend, for example. Nowadays, where models on suicidal behavior have long overrun mere interpretation Joiner presents with one that captures features of the suicidal process that can be translated into psychological intervention parameters and even public health policy.

I thought this book was very scientific with a very personal side. It was helpful to me as my sister recently committed suicide and I have a medical background to understand his writing. Someone without psychiatric/medical/psychology background might have difficulty with the technical aspects. Plan to pass it on to my family.

The author of Why People Die by Suicide has both a personal and professional passion for the topic. Thomas Joiner is a professor of psychology at Florida State University, and is the son of a man who committed suicide. He uses his scientific training to develop a theory to determine why people die by suicide.

Dr. Joiner explores what reasons people may have to deliberately die, an act that goes against the universal instinct to preserve life. The most accepted view of suicide from those who study it suggests that suicide is hate or aggression turned inward. Another theory states that "psychache" (general psychological and emotional pain that reaches intolerable intensity) leads one to suicide. Even laypersons know that this is not enough of an answer to the question, Why? Elements such as genetics must be included. Joiner examines the concepts of "perceived burdensomeness" and "failed sense of belongingness." He also considers the possibility that those who die by suicide work up to the act. As a suicidologist, Joiner hopes to provide an understanding of death by suicide.

This book is recommended for those who want an understanding of suicide from a clinical point of view. Although Joiner shares his personal journey as a survivor of his father's suicide, the style of the book is academic. If intellectual stimulation on the subject is what you are seeking, then the book is well worth reading.

Academic book about the causes of suicide. The author is a professor of Psychology, a clinical psychiatrist who works with suicidal people, and a research scientist who studies suicide. What makes this book particularly poignant is that the author's father died by suicide.

Why did I read this? Curiosity, mostly, but a sense of importance too. In the developed world, suicide is the biggest killer of people under 50 (see rationalfear.com), yet it is poorly understood.

The crux of the author's theory of why people die by suicide, is that it takes three things for that to occur:

- Learned ability to hurt oneself. It turns out it's difficult to kill yourself, both physically and mentally. Millions of years of evolution have bred us to NOT kill ourselves - we cannot naturally tolerate the amount of fear and pain involved. People who actually die are ones who have "gradually beaten back the instinct to survive". They do that by previous suicide attempts, but also by anything that habituates you to fear and pain - past physical abuse, violent crime, substance abuse, prostitution, aggressive sports, and being a physician.

- Feeling of being a burden on loved ones - "I'd be better off dead". In comparing suicide notes from people who died versus those who survived, the author finds those who died word the notes in terms of the benefit to other people. The notes from those who survived are more often about personal anger and frustration.

- Sense of isolation. If he could fund a public service announcement, the author states that he would say something like this: "keep your friends and make new ones - it's strong medicine".

In a concluding chapter, the author answers the question of why he chose to study suicide. The author's lost his father to suicide, and through his work in psychiatric clinics he grew close to many others who tried, and some who succeeded, in dying by suicide. Given that background, I found his words particularly powerful: "Extreme states and conditions, including suicidal crises, have the potential to inform us about human nature in general. The need to belong and to contribute in some way to society seems to be an essential part of what it means to be human".

It is excellent reading material. I am a Police Chaplain and refer back to this book many times. EXCELLENT