Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide

You might find this surprising, but this book is kind of a downer. Joking aside, the darkness here could be instructive for those who don't share these thoughts, but read with caution if you're prone to depression/dark ruminations. I discounted the caveats in the reviews, but this really does tend to tug one towards a morass if it echoes the thoughts in one's own head. On the other hand, I'm grateful it's neither saccharine nor patronizing. Makes me wonder what a good way to talk about suicide would be.

There's some good information here, myth-busting around suicide, suggestions for how to report on/respond to suicide, but it's a challenge to access because of the writing style. It's from 1999, so some terminology/data is outdated.

This is one of the most illuminating and interesting books on suicide that I’ve read in a very long time. It goes about as far as any book can in helping to explain this deeply tragic event, and to provide hope and alternatives for those contemplating taking their own lives.

I first came upon this book when I was about fourteen and suffering through what would be the first of many major depressions. I remember standing at a Barnes and Noble table, idly touching the smooth dust jacket and wondering if this book would have answers as to the way I felt. Nearly six years and two suicide attempts of my own later, I’ve finally read the book.

I’ve been a big fan of Jamison’s ever since I first read An Unquiet Mind, her memoir of manic-depression. She is an eloquent writer and speaks about her subject with authority. She captures the feelings and lives of those who were lost to suicide in a way most reports on suicide never even graze. As far as a reading experience, this book is smooth, information packed show more sailing.

My complaint, however, is that it seems that Jamison poses more questions about suicide than answers. Despite the subtitle, despite being someone who has stood on that brink between life and death more than once, I don’t feel I understand suicide any better at all. Maybe that’s the nature of the beast, but I was hoping for a little bit more.

Regardless, the book is still expertly executed and well worth the time of anyone who had ever been touched by a suicide or simply wondered about the suicidal mind.

I give it four stars. show less

Of author Kay Jamison, this woman’s life work — based on her personal knowledge of feelings of suicide — is a great gift to her community.

Suicide prevention is a worthy and difficult social policy matter, not just a medical response.

For reasons unknown to me, the COVID pandemic has highlighted the fears and sense of hopelessness experienced by many young women within my sphere.

This book helped me see what physicians, family members and friends should consider doing to help relieve the anxiety, the loneliness, and the commitment of suicidal individuals to seeking their ends.

Of using permanent solutions for what may indeed be temporary and fixable problems.

Extremely impressive ALL INCLUSIVE research. Well written, with some interesting anecdotes (esp. Lewis of "Lewis & Clark"). An intense read -- emotionally & psychologically painful to read, insofar as anyone reading this would have been touched by mental illness. If I weren't so bummed out after reading this, it would have deserved a higher rating.

If you want to know the ins and outs of suicide, this is the book. Jamison reviews the history of suicide, what factors seem to predispose people to suicide, what to look for in people who are suicidal, the pervasive role of mental illness and drug addiction in suicide risk, suicide prevents, and more. As a clinician who has lived with mental illness herself and knows what it is like to be suicidal, this is just an excellent resource. Although somewhat out of date now (it was published in 1999) the field has not progressed enough yet to have left it behind, which is too bad, as suicide remains a serious health issue, killing more people than many other causes of death.

Like too much nonfiction I've read lately, this falls into the genre of overlong NYTimes magazine article, but it is also a profoundly diligent, humane gathering of what we know about suicide. Saying it's tough to read is a bit of an understatement.