Discussion What are some good books about suicide?

[YourLocalSadGirly]

I've seen a thread like this for movies but not one for books. My recommendation is All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. I thought it was a quite realistic portrayal of suicidality (despite some of the methods mentioned in the book being quite suspect) and it was also heart-wrenching to read as someone who has lost a loved one to suicide. Great read. I'd love to hear some recommendations :).

 

[Uncounted1846]

I'm finishing up The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It follows one woman as she struggles with suicide.

 

[DeathSweetDeath]

I do love The Bell Jar and Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf, but my favorite is The Little Prince, which ends in an assisted suicide of sorts .

 

[behindtheveil]

The midnight library by Matt Haig

 

[badatparties]

I don't know, but here a suicide gif for you.

 

[Paleface]

I always liked the book it's kind of a funny story and the perks of being a wallflower.

 

[eggsausagerice]

I always liked the book it's kind of a funny story and the perks of being a wallflower.

good recs. these were my favorite high school books for a while. challenger deep is also about a teen with suicidal thoughts, and he gets sent to a psychiatric ward. it's kind of a funny story made me idealize psych wards for a bit because i thought i would make quirky friends there, but i mostly felt irritated that i was older than everyone because i was 17 in the teenager's ward. it's been a long time since i've read perks of being a wallflower so i can't give an honest review of it.

i also love all of chuck palahniuk's work, even though it's kind of too edgy for me as i've gotten older. i'd recommend his book survivor that's about the protag tender branson being in a death cult and dying. the book is in reverse and it totally blew my mind when i read it. no longer human by osamu dazai is also incredibly stellar in terms of suicidal ideation representation in a book. any time i read it i would be irritable and sad. metamorphosis could possibly be a book about suicide, but it might more about alienation leading to one's slow death.

 

[Chronical_Suicidal]

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami (reading it now).

 

[l1ablemistakes]

How it feels to float by Helena fox. I sob every time. It's not explicitly about suicide but it covers heavy mental health themes and definitely has references.

 

[Obetydlig]

If you're interested in a societal perspective Durkheims book on suicide is fundamental. I wanted to understand why I, and many others are like this and it definitely gave me something.

Here's a quick overview

Suicide (Durkheim book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And here's the whole book

https://www.gacbe.ac.in/images/E%20books/Durkheim%20-%20Suicide%20-%20A%20study%20in%20sociology.pdf

Also this oldie

https://i.sanctioned-suicide.net/images/2021/08/132028_A_Practical_Guide_to_Suicide.pdf