9780593317051

059331705X

9780593317068

"From the acclaimed author of How to Sell-- and based on his viral Huffington Post article-- comes a deeply intimate, insightful, and at times even funny portrait of the suicidal mind, combining the author's personal experience with a philosophical, literary, and journalistic inquiry into the subject..."--Publisher.

"The last time Clancy Martin tried to kill himself was in his basement with a dog leash. It was one of over ten attempts throughout the course of his life. But he didn't die, and like many who consider taking their own lives, he hid the attempt from his wife, family, coworkers, and students, slipping back into his daily life with a hoarse voice, a raw neck, and series of vague explanations. In How Not to Kill Yourself, Martin chronicles his multiple suicide attempts in an intimate depiction of the mindset of someone obsessed with self-destruction. He argues that, for the vast majority of suicides, an attempt does not just come out of the blue, nor is it merely a violent reaction to a particular crisis or failure, but is the culmination of a host of long-standing issues. He also looks at the thinking of a number of great writers who have attempted suicide and detailed their experiences (such as David Foster Wallace, Yiyun Li, Akutagawa, Nelly Arcan, and others), at what the history of philosophy has to say both for and against suicide, and at the experiences of those who have reached out to him across the years to share their own struggles. The result combines memoir with critical inquiry to powerfully give voice to what for many has long been incomprehensible, while showing those presently grappling with suicidal thoughts that they are not alone, and that the desire to kill oneself- like other self-destructive desires- is almost always temporary and avoidable."--Front jacket flap.

Preface

Part I. Suicidal tendencies. The suicidal mind

Is there a death drive?

I can always just kill myself tomorrow

They fuck you up / your mum and dad (part I)

Part II. One foot in the grave. Drinking myself to death

Philosophical suicide

The sickness unto death: observations from Edouard Leve, David Foster Wallace, and Nelly Arcan

The afterlife, or, welcome to the psych ward

Part III. The long road back. Relapse is part of recovery

They fuck you up / your mum and dad (part II)

A good death

Appendix I. Tools for crisis

Appendix II. In case of emergency: interviews on staying alive.

Suicide > Psychological aspects.

Suicide > Prevention.

Authors > Biography.

Authors, Canadian > Biography.

Suicide > Prevention.

Suicide > Psychological aspects.