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Harvard University Press
October 2007
On Sale: September 30, 2007
288 pages
ISBN: 0674025490
EAN: 9780674025493
Paperback
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Non-Fiction | Self-Help
In the wake of a suicide, the most troubling questions are
invariably the most difficult to answer: How could we have
known? What could we have done? And always, unremittingly:
Why? Written by a clinical psychologist whose own life has
been touched by suicide, this book offers the clearest
account ever given of why some people choose to die.
Drawing on extensive clinical and epidemiological evidence,
as well as personal experience, Thomas Joiner brings a
comprehensive understanding to seemingly incomprehensible
behavior. Among the many people who have considered,
attempted, or died by suicide, he finds three factors that
mark those most at risk of death: the feeling of being a
burden on loved ones; the sense of isolation; and,
chillingly, the learned ability to hurt oneself. Joiner
tests his theory against diverse facts taken from clinical
anecdotes, history, literature, popular culture,
anthropology, epidemiology, genetics, and
neurobiology--facts about suicide rates among men and women;
white and African-American men; anorexics, athletes,
prostitutes, and physicians; members of cults, sports fans,
and citizens of nations in crisis. The result is the
most coherent and persuasive explanation ever given of why
and how people overcome life's strongest instinct,
self-preservation. Joiner's is a work that makes sense of
the bewildering array of statistics and stories surrounding
suicidal behavior; at the same time, it offers insight,
guidance, and essential information to clinicians,
scientists, and health practitioners, and to anyone whose
life has been affected by suicide.
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