Acknowledgments Prologue: Losing My Dad 1. What We Know and Don't Know About Suicide 2. The Acquired Ability to Enact Lethal Self-Injury 3. The Desire for Death 4. What Do We Mean By Suicide and How Is It Distributed in People? 5. Genetics and Neurobiology of Suicidal Behavior, and the Roles of Impulsivity, Childhood Adversity, and Mental Disorders 6. Risk Assessment, Crisis Intervention, Treatment, and Prevention 7. Summary and Conclusion Epilogue
In a book both personal and scientific, Thomas Joiner gives us the deepest understanding of suicide that has yet been written. He reminds us that to go on living we need to feel that we belong to someone and that we are effective. But he adds a surprising third factor--we must not break down our fear of death. Joiner offers wise guidance not only to professionals, but to those who must live on after this kind of death in the family. -- Pauline Boss, author of Ambiguous Loss As a survivor, I find this book to be illuminating, informative, and, most of all, healing. Joiner searches for the "why" of suicide as both a scientist and a survivor himself, and his research and insights help us to make sense of the pain and confusion that led our loved ones to end their lives. -- Carla Fine, author of No Time To Say Goodbye: Surviving The Suicide Of A Loved One Joiner provides an elegant description of what leads people to commit suicide and what professionals, families, and friends can do to prevent the crisis that this tragedy creates for everyone involved. -- Aaron T. Beck, M.D., University Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Joiner is Distinguished Research Professor and Bright-Burton Professor of Psychology at Florida State University and author of Why People Die by Suicide.
In a book both personal and scientific, Thomas Joiner gives us the
deepest understanding of suicide that has yet been written. He
reminds us that to go on living we need to feel that we belong to
someone and that we are effective. But he adds a surprising third
factor—we must not break down our fear of death. Joiner offers wise
guidance not only to professionals, but to those who must live on
after this kind of death in the family.
*Pauline Boss, author of Ambiguous Loss*
As a survivor, I find this book to be illuminating, informative,
and, most of all, healing. Joiner searches for the "why" of suicide
as both a scientist and a survivor himself, and his research and
insights help us to make sense of the pain and confusion that led
our loved ones to end their lives.
*Carla Fine, author of No Time To Say Goodbye: Surviving The
Suicide Of A Loved One*
Joiner provides an elegant description of what leads people to
commit suicide and what professionals, families, and friends can do
to prevent the crisis that this tragedy creates for everyone
involved.
*Aaron T. Beck, M.D., University Professor of Psychiatry,
University of Pennsylvania*
Joiner provides a fascinating contribution to psychological
literature that is certain to join the ranks of Émile Durkheim's
Suicide and Karl Menninger's Man Against Himself. Not only has
Joiner established professional prominence in suicidology, but he
also has a profound personal relationship with the subject: his own
father died by suicide. Drawing on the pain of this experience as
well as on clinical and epidemiological evidence, Joiner has
managed to conduct significant research into why some people die by
suicide, while others survive their attempts at self-annihilation.
His persuasive thesis is that practice, mental and physical, is
what separates the completers from the attempters. In particular,
those who have become desensitized to physical pain are most likely
to orchestrate their own deaths successfully. Joiner also
identifies perceived burdensomeness, little sense of belonging,
genetics, neurobiology, and mental disorders as contributors to
suicidality and completion.
*Library Journal*
Taking one's own life goes against one of our strongest urges—the
instinct of self-preservation. The deterioration of this instinct,
says Thomas Joiner, should be regarded as a symptom of
disease...His theory, outlined in Why People Die by Suicide is that
it happens when severely depressed people acquire fearlessness. How
do people become fearless? Through practice and learning, he says.
This explains the bouts of self-harm or failed suicide attempts
that are not cries for help so much as rehearsals for a deadly
finale.
*The Times*
[Joiner's] theory is the most comprehensive yet put forth to
explain why some people end their lives. Joiner offers a dizzying
array of studies to shore up his argument, and some of the evidence
he offers is quite novel for the lay reader.
*Newsday*
Mr. Joiner's book is a useful guide to suicidal behavior...Mr.
Joiner draws on many scientific fields—genetics, neuroscience,
psychiatry, evolutionary psychology—all of which, he thinks, have
something to offer the study of suicide. The major lesson of his
book is the necessity of keeping the ability to commit suicide from
coinciding with the desire for death...His book is a practical
study, full of up-to-the-minute research.
*Wall Street Journal*
It is the synergy and tension between Joiner's dual identity as
suicide survivor and academic that imbues this book with both its
power and a certain logical grandiosity...Joiner is to be commended
for a powerful effort to integrate science and personal tragedy. In
an easily digestible style, he reviews the breadth of modern
suicide scholarship—biological, psychological, and social, and
presents his integration clearly and forcefully.
*Boston Globe*
The Florida State University psych professor, who grew up here and
endured the suicide of his father not far from their Atlanta home,
asserts that suicide is not simply an act but a process. Joiner
describes how a person works up to suicide by overcoming the fear
of death and the instinct for self-preservation. In accessible,
somber prose, he also explains the conditions under which a person
becomes suicidal.
*Atlanta Journal-Constitution*
Many researchers and clinicians have tried to explain why people
commit suicide. The majority of studies that have been conducted to
date have examined correlates and risk factors for suicidal
behavior. However, many of these risk factors are found throughout
the general population, and the vast majority of people do not
engage in suicidal behavior. Dr. Joiner's theory is one of the
first that integrates many of these risk factors into an
explanatory model. His model makes sense both intuitively and
empirically. What makes Dr. Joiner's theory particularly credible
is the research that he and his students have done to support his
model. Additionally, he is able to use his theory to explain such
diverse behaviors as the suicide attacks on 9/11 and Kurt Cobain's
suicide. What makes this book particularly interesting is that it
begins with a prologue detailing Dr. Joiner's personal account of
loss by suicide...This book is a must-read for clinicians and
researchers who are involved with suicidal patients. Dr. Joiner's
model highlights the acute risk factors for serious suicidal
behavior thus providing tangible targets for assessment and
treatment. Additionally this volume is an excellent resource for
family members who have lost a loved one to suicide...Based upon
the book's combination of sound scientific research with thoughtful
personal reflections and examples it is given a strong
recommendation.
*Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Book Reviews*
The change in the way I now look at my dad's death comes because of
[this] compelling book.
*The Times*
In a book both personal and scientific, Thomas Joiner gives us the
deepest understanding of suicide that has yet been written. He
reminds us that to go on living we need to feel that we belong to
someone and that we are effective. But he adds a surprising third
factor-we must not break down our fear of death. Joiner offers wise
guidance not only to professionals, but to those who must live on
after this kind of death in the family. -- Pauline Boss, author of
Ambiguous Loss
As a survivor, I find this book to be illuminating, informative,
and, most of all, healing. Joiner searches for the "why" of suicide
as both a scientist and a survivor himself, and his research and
insights help us to make sense of the pain and confusion that led
our loved ones to end their lives. -- Carla Fine, author of No
Time To Say Goodbye: Surviving The Suicide Of A Loved One
Joiner provides an elegant description of what leads people to
commit suicide and what professionals, families, and friends can do
to prevent the crisis that this tragedy creates for everyone
involved. -- Aaron T. Beck, M.D., University Professor of
Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
Joiner provides a fascinating contribution to psychological
literature that is certain to join the ranks of Emile Durkheim's
Suicide and Karl Menninger's Man Against Himself. Not
only has Joiner established professional prominence in suicidology,
but he also has a profound personal relationship with the subject:
his own father died by suicide. Drawing on the pain of this
experience as well as on clinical and epidemiological evidence,
Joiner has managed to conduct significant research into why some
people die by suicide, while others survive their attempts at
self-annihilation. His persuasive thesis is that practice, mental
and physical, is what separates the completers from the attempters.
In particular, those who have become desensitized to physical pain
are most likely to orchestrate their own deaths successfully.
Joiner also identifies perceived burdensomeness, little sense of
belonging, genetics, neurobiology, and mental disorders as
contributors to suicidality and completion. -- Lynne F. Maxwell *
Library Journal *
Taking one's own life goes against one of our strongest urges-the
instinct of self-preservation. The deterioration of this instinct,
says Thomas Joiner, should be regarded as a symptom of
disease...His theory, outlined in Why People Die by Suicide
is that it happens when severely depressed people acquire
fearlessness. How do people become fearless? Through practice and
learning, he says. This explains the bouts of self-harm or failed
suicide attempts that are not cries for help so much as rehearsals
for a deadly finale. -- Anjana Ahuja * The Times *
[Joiner's] theory is the most comprehensive yet put forth to
explain why some people end their lives. Joiner offers a dizzying
array of studies to shore up his argument, and some of the evidence
he offers is quite novel for the lay reader. -- Philip Connors *
Newsday *
Mr. Joiner's book is a useful guide to suicidal behavior...Mr.
Joiner draws on many scientific fields-genetics, neuroscience,
psychiatry, evolutionary psychology-all of which, he thinks, have
something to offer the study of suicide. The major lesson of his
book is the necessity of keeping the ability to commit suicide from
coinciding with the desire for death...His book is a practical
study, full of up-to-the-minute research. -- Thomas Meaney * Wall
Street Journal *
It is the synergy and tension between Joiner's dual identity as
suicide survivor and academic that imbues this book with both its
power and a certain logical grandiosity...Joiner is to be commended
for a powerful effort to integrate science and personal tragedy. In
an easily digestible style, he reviews the breadth of modern
suicide scholarship-biological, psychological, and social, and
presents his integration clearly and forcefully. -- J. Michael
Bostwick * Boston Globe *
The Florida State University psych professor, who grew up here and
endured the suicide of his father not far from their Atlanta home,
asserts that suicide is not simply an act but a process. Joiner
describes how a person works up to suicide by overcoming the fear
of death and the instinct for self-preservation. In accessible,
somber prose, he also explains the conditions under which a person
becomes suicidal. -- Lawrence Wright * Atlanta Journal-Constitution
*
Many researchers and clinicians have tried to explain why people
commit suicide. The majority of studies that have been conducted to
date have examined correlates and risk factors for suicidal
behavior. However, many of these risk factors are found throughout
the general population, and the vast majority of people do not
engage in suicidal behavior. Dr. Joiner's theory is one of the
first that integrates many of these risk factors into an
explanatory model. His model makes sense both intuitively and
empirically. What makes Dr. Joiner's theory particularly credible
is the research that he and his students have done to support his
model. Additionally, he is able to use his theory to explain such
diverse behaviors as the suicide attacks on 9/11 and Kurt Cobain's
suicide. What makes this book particularly interesting is that it
begins with a prologue detailing Dr. Joiner's personal account of
loss by suicide...This book is a must-read for clinicians and
researchers who are involved with suicidal patients. Dr. Joiner's
model highlights the acute risk factors for serious suicidal
behavior thus providing tangible targets for assessment and
treatment. Additionally this volume is an excellent resource for
family members who have lost a loved one to suicide...Based upon
the book's combination of sound scientific research with thoughtful
personal reflections and examples it is given a strong
recommendation. -- Elizabeth L. Jeglic * Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy Book Reviews *
The change in the way I now look at my dad's death comes because of
[this] compelling book. -- Steve Martin * The Times *
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