In the Wake of Suicide: Stories of the People Left Behind

Breathtaking stories of incredible power for anyone struggling to find the meaning in the suicidal death of a loved one--and for all readers seeking writing that moves and inspires. After author Victoria Alexander's mother took her life, she spent the next ten years collecting stories from people, like herself, who have walked through one of life's most difficult journeys. The result is a beautifully written book of powerful, spellbinding stories told by those who were left behind--parents, children, spouses, lovers, friends, and colleagues. In the Wake of Suicide offers survivors the understanding, compassion, and hope they need to guide them on their own path in the wake of this most painful loss.

Table of Contents:
SUICIDE, GRIEF, AND STORYTELLING. Language and Taboo. Grief After Suicide. Giving Voice to the Loss. Finding a Way to Tell the Story. AT THE END/AT THE BEGINNING. Prologue. Natalie: Dreams of Catching Her. Laura: Right at the Core of Life. Susan: Grieving Long Before He Died. Philip: A Loss of Innocence. Joan: How Can a Mother Not Know? Catherine: A White--Knuckle Ride. Epilogue: Finding the Words. Prologue. Catherine: A White--Knuckle Ride (continued). Joy: Knowing Suicide from a Young Age. Chris: Being the Only One. Marcia: Like a Shadow of Pain. Ellen: Such an Interruption. Richard: Being There to See Him Off. Epilogue: Living with the Words. Then and Now. Prologue. Karen: Having Lost So Many Things at the Same Time. Natalie: Dreams of Catching Her (continued). Laura: Right at the Core of Life (continued). Susan: Grieving Long Before He Died (continued). Philip: A Loss of Innocence (continued). Joy: Knowing Suicide from a Young Age (continued). Rachel: Needing My Best Friend to Comfort Me. Epilogue: Finding a Place for Words. Resources for Survivors of Suicide.

About the Author :
VICTORIA ALEXANDER is the co--founder of After Suicide, an organization that offers support groups, consultation, and counseling for survivors. She is on the staff of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Review :
"This extraordinary, well-written, near-poetic book provides us with the first-person accounts of parent, child, brother, sister, spouse, lover, and therapist as they struggle through the pain-laden conflicted months and years of bereavement after a suicide of a loved one." (Norman Farberow, co-founder, Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center) "Suicide shipwrecks those it leaves behind, often disarticulating their hearts, minds, and lives. When Victoria Alexander's mother died of suicide, she says the shock thundered through every corner of her life. As a work of salvage, for herself and for others, she interviewed forty other suicide survivors and sets forth here some of their stories, showing us how people reassemble themselves and move forward after that tragedy." (John T. Maltsberger, president, American Association of Suicidology and lecturer in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)