Life After Suicide (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Life after Suicide: A Ray of Hope for Those Left Behind begins with personal and often painful journeys into the scarred psyches of people who lost a loved one to suicide. When the author's husband killed himself, she had a choice: either hide behind denial or tackle her grief head-on. Beginning with her own story of unfinished personal affairs, Ms. Ross also includes accounts of others who have struggled with recurring feelings of abandonment, rejection, and stigma while moving forward to stages of healing and restoration of faith in themselves. She then describes the dynamics of after-suicide bereavement and gives specific suggestions for helping survivors, children, and others. The author also discusses the ethical debate over suicide as a sin, widowhood by suicide, the delicate responsibilities of the coroner or police, and the importance of support groups. Ms. Ross presents her own reflections on suicide in moral, philosophical, and social terms - and the impact of the dysfunctional family - and explores possible influencing factors for both the act of suicide and society's attitude. Backed by years of research and her extensive work with survivors and support groups, this is a valuable guide for recovering from grief, offering useful information for both survivors and those who work with them. Capped by a comprehensive grief and postvention resource guide, Life after Suicide stands as an important resource for libraries, crisis centers, funeral homes, hospices, and other caregiving organizations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (August 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306456303
• ISBN-13: 978-0306456305
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,100,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bright Beacon, August 6, 2000

By	"goldcoastreviews" (Florida) - See all my reviews

"Life After Suicide: A Ray of Hope for Those Left Behind" is a bright beacon on a dark subject. The colorful cover caught my attention--yellows and pinks and an inspiring sunrise. So it is with the contents of Ms. Ross's personal account of her husband's death. Her writing is clear as *white glass* in helping those of us struggling to move on after losing a loved one this way.

It is close to the anniversary of my mother's death. Yes, she comitted suicide--alcohol and pill overdose. Do you know how hard that is to type? Or say out loud? The guilt, the grief, sets in and replays throughout the years as relentlessly as crashing tides washing debris upon a desolate beach. Debris that must be delt with. Either tossed and forgotten or picked up and treasured. As quoted in "Tuesdays With Morrie"--death ends a life, not a relationship.

This is a blessing of a book. Collective stories of others, careful research into the subject, ethical debates over the stigmatism of suicide, and even the dealings with the coroner and police--makes this a complete suicide survival guide. I would think this could be used by anyone dealing with this issue; nurses, funeral homes, hospices.

"Ray of Hope" is a cosmic path towards healing.

Thanks for your interest & comments--CDS

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I was looking For..., May 15, 2001

By	V. Quackenbush (Suffern, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would not say this book is terrible-there is alot of good stuff in the last few chapters to educate all-I was just a little disappointed in what seemed to me the long drawn out story of Ms. Ross. I applaud her for her courage to reach out to those in need and share her experiences but, I think less of her story would have gotten the point across.Maybe someone who is in a situation similar to hers would find some comfort here.There is alot of information in the later chapters for therapists who are unfamiliar with suicide grief to benefit from and would greatly help those in need with such.