In the Wake of Suicide: Stories of the People Left Behind (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Death bring an end to one life but is only the prelude to loss in other lives..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This extraordinary, well-written, near-poetic book provides us with the first-person accounts of parent, child, brother, sister, spouse, lover, and therapist as they struggle through the pain-laden conflicted months and years of bereavement after a suicide of a loved one." (Norman Farberow, co-founder, Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center)

"Suicide shipwrecks those it leaves behind, often disarticulating their hearts, minds, and lives. When Victoria Alexander's mother died of suicide, she says the shock thundered through every corner of her life. As a work of salvage, for herself and for others, she interviewed forty other suicide survivors and sets forth here some of their stories, showing us how people reassemble themselves and move forward after that tragedy." (John T. Maltsberger, president, American Association of Suicidology and lecturer in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)

Product Description

Breathtaking stories of incredible power for anyone struggling to find the meaning in the suicidal death of a loved one—and for all readers seeking writing that moves and inspires.

After author Victoria Alexanders mother took her life, she spent the next ten years collecting stories from people, like herself, who have walked through one of lifes most difficult journeys. The result is a beautifully written book of powerful, spellbinding stories told by those who were left behind—parents, children, spouses, lovers, friends, and colleagues. In the Wake of Suicide offers survivors the understanding, compassion, and hope they need to guide them on their own path in the wake of this most painful loss.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (January 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787940526
• ISBN-13: 978-0787940522
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #683,213 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Diamond in the rough of academia assessing suicide., July 22, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews

Victoria Alexander brings her own experiences in life into this book that describes the isolation, confusion, desperation, anger, lack thereof of any emotion...once someone close to you takes their own life. For once I have found a book that is not purely engorged in its academic statistics. I applaud Ms. Alexander for seeing the truth of the terror. I am a survivor of suicide, and this book proves a great comfort in knowing that I am not the only one. I pray that we rid ourselves of the stigma. Interviews in this volume range from every corner of the nation, be it a son, wife, husband, daughter, mother, father, or anyone close who has died by their own hand.

Thank you Ms. Alexander.

Molly Leach Boise, ID

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words I Never Thought to Speak:..Life..in Wake of suicide, April 4, 2001

By	L.L. Prichard, Esq. "critterlaw" (Texas United States) - See all my reviews

Of all the many books on suicide I've read through the years, this book rates highest on my list of books that are helpful in terms of the understanding it provides to survivors of suicide, including both the legacy and the different ways we process and come to terms with a suicide. What I spent years trying to understand in myself, my family members, and other suicide survivors, I found on the pages of this well-written and organized book. Time and again while reading, I would say aloud with some excitement: "That's WHY!" or "Exactly!" or "I wish I'd written that!" In addition, I couldn't resist sharing some of the passages and/or the insights I'd gained to others who were either struggling with the legacy suicide leaves behind or were contemplating suicide themselves. This book clearly shows that suicide leaves its own distinct fingerprints on the hearts and lives of its survivors. I wish I'd discovered the book long ago. Kudos to Victoria Alexander!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An touching collection of the stories of survivors., September 3, 1998

By A Customer

An excellent read for health care professionals, survivors of suicide and anyone seeking stories of human strength, Victoria Alexander offers a well organized collection of narratives from survivors of suicide. Raw in it's honesty, it offers hope of a future to the recently bereaved and a reference point for professionals and laypeople caring for those left behind. A survivor myself, it allowed me to address issues I had burried years earlier. A decade of collecting these touching, sometimes painful stories has allowed insight into a suffering that shame so often causes us to conceal.