Tag suicide

Now Read This: Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

I have joined enthusiastic readers around the globe in applauding Matt Haig’s books. He creates characters and stories with intriguing themes and compelling stories.

Reasons to Stay Alive is Matt Haig’s very personal story. He opens his heart and his mind as he describes his long battle with depression and anxiety. His book presents important realities about mental illness and overflows with strategies he has tried over the years. He writes that other people’s stories of suffering and survival have comforted him.

Here is a taste of the book’s topics:

Depressives don’t seek happiness; they seek to be free of pain. They feel like no one is going through what they face.

Anxiety added to depression can be a deadly cocktail.

Why do so many more men than women commit suicide?

Mental illness is just as much an illness as cancer, so don’t tell someone who is suffering to “cheer up.”

Travel and exercise can be antidotes to some symptoms.

The world is designed to make us feel like we need more, leading some to become depressed and/or anxious. Happy people are not good for the economy. The more we join the race to acquire stuff, the more it makes life speed by, effectively shortening it.

There are ways to slow down the mind and reduce anxiety. The book includes a list.

A thin skin is an enemy of mental wellness.

It is impossible to think just happy thoughts, but it is possible not to become the bad thoughts if you accept all your thoughts.

If you want to explore related books, Anxiety Relief by Russell Kennedy and Toxic Positivity by Whitney Goodman are two I have reviewed that complement Reasons to Stay Alive. Drop me a note or comment on this post if you have other books to recommend.

13 Reasons Why: A Search for Answers

Reg Spittle 1 Comment

After a loved one takes their own life, family and friends are often left wondering. What did I miss? Could I have prevented it? They try to answer the big question: Why? Guilt and confusion sometimes accompany grief and even anger.

Before 17-year-old Hannah Baker commits suicide, she narrates 13 cassette-tape recordings on seven double-sided tapes. Two weeks after her death, Clay Jensen, her high school classmate who so badly had wanted to ask her out, finds a shoebox on his doorstep. Inside he finds the tapes with a note to pass them on to the next person who is addressed by Hannah Baker’s words.

In the young adult novel, 13 Reasons Why, author Jay Asher describes how each recording is aimed at a person or event that contributed to Hannah’s decision to take her own life. Her goal is to answer the question: Why?

The story alternates between her words and Clay Jensen’s thoughts and reactions as he struggles with guilt and anticipates what Hannah will finally say about his role.

The compelling story weaves depression and teen angst with scenes of bullying, rumor-mongering, stalking, lying, and a horrific crime. Clay Jensen realizes it’s not about what he did, but about his missed opportunities.

A New York Times bestseller for three years, 13 Reasons Why drew critics and demands across the country to ban the book and keep it away from impressionable young people. Some called Hannah Baker a “drama queen” who should have been tougher. Others questioned whether teen-agers really take “little” things so seriously. For Hannah, life is a snowball of painful events that spins beyond her control.

The reality is that suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 10-to-24-year-olds and the list of causes includes depression, substance abuse, sex abuse, social isolation and bullying.

Normally, I read the book before watching the movie or TV show. In this case, I watched all four seasons of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why a while back, then recently read the book. The first season’s episodes expose the recordings and Hannah’s life; the other seasons extend the story into the aftermath. During the first season, I was drawn to each episode, thinking the story would help troubled youths deal with difficult issues and even encourage some to reach out for help. Others might be led to realize how “little” comments or deeds can cause devastating pain.

Although I sometimes had trouble remembering that the italic font was Hannah talking, I found her story and Clay’s reactions realistic. My heart ached as Clay cried. I looked for words that would bring comfort for Hannah’s family and friends.

But, despite her recorded words, I was still left wondering about Hannah Baker’s death.

Why?