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A review by jstilts
Profiles in Hope by John Brogden
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
A very important piece of work - I normally rate books on how much I enjoy them, but given the subject matter that isn't a factor - so it's tough to give a star rating. Suffice to say that reading this was a worthwhile and insightful experience.
15 interviews with Australians who have attempted suicide or ideated suicide - some of them are everyday people, many are famous politicians, sports and screen personalities - including the interviewer himself.
These are the stories of the survivors - some followed through with their attempt but survived (sometimes to immediately try again), some were thwarted by circumstance or by loving and insightful people.
All of them have a positive story to tell of their life afterwards. It's a tough read, very emotional and often confronting. Some questions and answers you may even find shocking.
It's an extremely insightful book - for instance while many tales are of hardship and loss, quite a few people interviewed seemed to the outside world to be at the peak of their personal achievement before attempting suicide, because as it turned out they'd built their life around one goal - and when that goal was achieved or missed or derailed they felt their life was also finished.
I read no more than one or two interviews per day, as each inte view is very emotional. Some of the people interviewed are talking about this subject for the first time, but even those who have spoken before - it's very raw.
Note, all profits of this books sale go towards Lifeline.
15 interviews with Australians who have attempted suicide or ideated suicide - some of them are everyday people, many are famous politicians, sports and screen personalities - including the interviewer himself.
These are the stories of the survivors - some followed through with their attempt but survived (sometimes to immediately try again), some were thwarted by circumstance or by loving and insightful people.
All of them have a positive story to tell of their life afterwards. It's a tough read, very emotional and often confronting. Some questions and answers you may even find shocking.
It's an extremely insightful book - for instance while many tales are of hardship and loss, quite a few people interviewed seemed to the outside world to be at the peak of their personal achievement before attempting suicide, because as it turned out they'd built their life around one goal - and when that goal was achieved or missed or derailed they felt their life was also finished.
I read no more than one or two interviews per day, as each inte view is very emotional. Some of the people interviewed are talking about this subject for the first time, but even those who have spoken before - it's very raw.
Note, all profits of this books sale go towards Lifeline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt