THE "I" OF THE STORM: UNDERSTANDING THE SUICIDAL MIND

David Lester

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Open Poland 2014

THE "I" OF THE STORM

UNDERSTANDING THE SUICIDAL MIND

David Lester

https://doi.org/10.2478/9783110374827

Overview
Contents

About this book

We cannot explain why people kill themselves. There are no necessary or sufficient causes for suicide, so rather than explaining suicide (looking for causes), perhaps we can understand suicide, at least in one individual, a phenomenological approach. This book begins by examining the diaries from eight individuals who killed themselves. Using qualitative analyses, supplemented in some cases by quantitative analyses, Lester seeks to uncover the unique thoughts and feelings that led these individuals to take their own lives. Lester has also studied suicide notes, the poems of those who died by suicide (both famous poets and unpublished poets), the letters written by suicides, blogs and twitter feeds, and one tape recording of a young man who killed himself just an hour or so after he recorded the tape. This book will give you insights into the “I” of the storm, the suicidal mind.
David Lester has PhD’s from Cambridge University (UK) and Brandeis University (USA). He is a former President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a leading scholar on suicide, murder, the fear of death and other topics and thanatology.

Suicide; diaries; suicide notes

Author / Editor information

David Lester, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, USA

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
1 The Study of Personal Documents by Those Who Died by Suicide Publicly Available Download PDF	1
2 The Use of Computer Programs for Analyzing Suicide Texts Publicly Available Download PDF	9
Part I: The Study of Diaries
3 Katie’s Diary Publicly Available Download PDF	16
4 Cesare Pavese Publicly Available Download PDF	32
5 Arthur Inman Publicly Available Download PDF	42
6 Jim’s Diary Publicly Available Download PDF	53
7 A Suicide in Academia Publicly Available Download PDF	61
8 The Diary of Kenneth Williams Publicly Available Download PDF	70
9 Wallace Baker Publicly Available Download PDF	73
10 Bobby Sands Publicly Available Download PDF	75
Part II: Studies of Suicide Notes
11 The Study of Genuine and Simulated Notes Publicly Available Download PDF	78
12 Suicide Notes From Attempted and Completed Suicides Publicly Available Download PDF	90
13 Differences by Gender, Age and Other Variables Publicly Available Download PDF	94
14 Protest Suicide in Korean Students and Laborers Publicly Available Download PDF	105
Part III: Studies Of Other Written Materials
15 Studies of Poems Publicly Available Download PDF	110
16 Studies of Letters Publicly Available Download PDF	121
17 A Blog From a Murder-Suicide Publicly Available Download PDF	129
18 The Final Words of a Suicide Publicly Available Download PDF	131
19 Twitter Postings in the 24 Hours Prior to Suicide Publicly Available Download PDF	135
20 Interviews With Attempted Suicides Publicly Available Download PDF	140
21 Bereavement After Suicide: a Study of Memorials on the Internet Publicly Available Download PDF	145
22 Conclusions: What Have We Learned? Publicly Available Download PDF	149
References Publicly Available Download PDF	156
Senior Author Index Publicly Available Download PDF	163
Subject Index Publicly Available Download PDF	166

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Open Poland
Audience: Psychologists; psychiatrists; social workers; mental health workers
Pages
- Main content: 169
Illustrations
- Tables: 32

eBook

Published: May 29, 2015
ISBN: 9783110374827

Hardcover

Published: October 8, 2014
ISBN: 9783110374810