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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.858445
EAN: 9780674025493
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0674025490
Label: Harvard University Press
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: September 30, 2007
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Studio: Harvard University Press

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:


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.

(20060130)




Rating: - Useful contribution
Quote:
"The result is the most coherent and persuasive explanation ever given of why and how people overcome life's strongest instinct, self-preservation."

Life's strongest instinct is not self-preservation, it is reproduction by inclusive fitness mechanisms. The individual doesn't matter, it's their genes. Very important this fact is understood if a comprehensive understanding of suicide behaviour is to be achieved. Hopefully this will be made clearer in future books.

Read More

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Rating: - A unique blend of professional detachment and personal passion.
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.

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Rating: - Very thought provoking, took guts to write
It is an interesting subject to broach, much less write about. I was intrested in his observations and conclusions, and I found it very thought provoking and pretty much as I would have guessed, for the most part. Well written and something that people shy away from talking about, but very necessary, as there are too few who endores euthanasia when we totally accept it in animals, and consider it 'humane'. Why not us?? However, some people are just in a place whereby they cannot go on any longer, for ... Read More

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Rating: - A mixed bag
Much of this book is an apology for a proposed model for suicide which is, at best, a stretch. The early secions are repetitive and and an attempt to summon evidence in support of the model. In many cases, correlations are confused with causality.

The middle section which reviews current evidence on genetics,and neurobioloby is well worth reading.

The last sections which deal with prevention and therapy are weak and
mostly a re-hash of Cognitive-Behavioral therapy tenets. ... Read More

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Rating: - Needs More Work
Thomas Joiner's study of suicide really belongs to a niche readership of an academic circle. The work in this important area itself exhibits a great many strengths and insights, but it also suffers from many problems that eliminate a wider readership.

Joiner asserts, essentially, that there are three ingredients that lead to suicide: lack of "belongingness"; inefficiency; and the ability to withstand pain in order to overcome the instinct for survival. Although the language of the book sometimes ... Read More

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