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bizi · 12-03-2008, 10:11 AM

NEW BOOK SUGGESTIONS
for Survivors of Suicide Loss
The following books have been recently reviewed and added to AFSP's Survivors of Suicide Loss Bibliography. Our hope is that these books will offer hope and guidance for survivors at all stages of healing. To view the complete bibliography, click here.
Please visit www.afsp.org/shoponline to order from Amazon.com. Purchases made through www.afsp.org/shoponline benefit AFSP, at no additional cost to you.
SURVIVOR GUIDES
Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families after a Suicide
Beverly Cobain and Jean Larch, Hazelden Foundation, 2006. Co-authored by the cousin of Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the band Nirvana who took his own life in 1994, and a crisis intervention specialist, this book combines personal accounts from survivors with practical guidance for coping with suicide loss.
Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide
Christopher Lukas and Henry Seiden, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007.
Co-authored by a psychologist and a survivor of multiple suicide losses, this book is written with sensitivity and understanding, and offers simple, constructive suggestions for healing along with straightforward information and a message of hope.
SURVIVOR STORIES

Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and SurvivalChristopher Lukas, Doubleday, 2008. Christopher (Kit) Lukas, co-author of Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide, survived the suicide of his mother when he was a young boy. Neither he nor his brother were told how she'd died, and both went on to confront their own struggles with depression, a disease that ran throughout their family. In 1997, Kit's brother Tony, a Pulitzer-prize winning author, took his own life. Blue Genes is Kit's exploration of his family history, his personal journey and his determination to find strength and hope.

Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts His Own Grief
David C. Treadway, BasicBooks, 1996. The author, now a successful family therapist, was just twenty when his mother, a longtime alcoholic, took her own life. Even as he counsels his clients on how to deal with death, loss and grief, he finds himself increasingly unable to manage his own. Turning to his own therapist for help, Treadway includes the reader on his journey of healing as he finally comes to terms with his mother's death.

Never Regret the Pain: Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse
Sel Erder Yackley, Helm Publishing, 2008. In her memoir, Sel Erder Yackley, mother of three, provides the reader an intimate glimpse into her family's struggle to understand, cope with, and grieve the bipolar disorder and ultimate suicide of husband, a well-respected judge.

The Suicide Index: Putting My Father's Death in Order
Joan Wickersham, Harcourt Inc., 2008. Wickersham uses an index -- that most orderly of structures -- to try to make sense of her father's suicide. The family history, business failures and encounters with friends and doctors are assembled into a philosophical, deeply personal and beautifully-written exploration of the mystery of her father's life and death.
FOR MEN
Swallowed by a Snake: The Gift of the Masculine Side of Healing
Thomas R. Golden, Golden Healing Publishing, 1996. This book by a licensed clinical social worker explores the stereotypically "masculine" experience of grief. In the author's words, "[a] man reading these pages will find a book that honors the uniqueness of a man's path toward healing. A woman reading this book will benefit not only from gaining a deeper understanding of the men in her life, she will find herself in these pages."
When Suicide Comes Home: A Father's Diary and Comments
Paul Cox, Bolton Press 2002. A father's perspective on the first year following his son's suicide, this book is written in a simple, straightforward way - an easy read for early grief. While written from a father's perspective, female readers (especially spouses) have said that it helped them better understand the male experience of grief. (Order by visiting www.boltonpress.com. Currently unavailable through Amazon.com.)
POETRY/INSPIRATIONAL
A Long-Shadowed Grief: Suicide and its Aftermath
Harold Ivan Smith, Cowley Publications 2006. Written from a Christian perspective, this book by a survivor of his cousin's suicide and former funeral director explores the aftermath of suicide through the lenses of spirituality and theology.
Healing the Hurt Spirit: Daily Affirmations for People Who Have Lost a Loved One to Suicide
Catherine Greenleaf, St. Dymphna Press, 2006. Written by a longtime survivor of multiple suicide losses, this non-denominational book encourages survivors to explore their grief through a series of simple readings and daily affirmations. (Order by visiting www.centeringcorp.com or CompassionBooks.com. Currently unavailable through Amazon.com.)