Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide - Softcover

Redfield Jamison, Kay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330481797 ISBN 13: 9780330481793

Publisher: Picador, 2001

Synopsis

Suicide is the third major killer of young people in the Western world, and in the closing decades of the twentieth century it reached epidemic proportions: around the world there has been a frightening surge in suicides committed by children, adolescents and young adults. Kay Redfield Jamison is herself a survivor of a nearly lethal suicide attempt which came after years of battling manic depression. Her survival marked the beginning of a life’s work to investigate mental illness and self-inflicted death, and she is now an internationally recognized authority on the depressive illnesses.

In Night Falls Fast Dr. Jamison dispels the silence and shame that surround the subject of suicide and provides a better understanding of the suicidal mind and a chance to recognize the person at risk. She brings to the book not only wide scientific knowledge and clinical experience but also great compassion. In tracing the network of reasons underlying the phenomenon, she gives us astonishing examples and a startling look at the journals, drawings and farewell notes of people who have chosen to kill themselves. She also provides vivid insight into the most recent findings from hospitals and laboratories across the world; the critical biological and psychological factors that interact to cause suicide; and the new strategies being evolved to combat them.

Night Falls Fast is a sensitive and penetrating analysis that helps us to comprehend the profound and disturbing sense of loss created in those left behind. It is the first major book on the subject in a quarter of a century and stands to become a classic account of one of the most devastating and destructive causes of death of our time.

‘An important, moving and informative book’ Guardian

‘For anyone in any way connected with a potential suicide this book is essential reading: that means all of us’ The Times

‘This is a lyrical, beautifully argued, deep and deeply troubling book’ Evening Standard

‘A profound and impassioned book which will stand as the authoritative study of suicide for many years’ William Styron

About this title

Review

'It stands alone in the literature of manic-depression for its bravery, brilliance and beauty' Oliver Sacks 'Night Falls Fast is the first major survey of suicide in 25 years... Jamison has a rare and unerring ability to straddle two worlds; she thinks like a scientist and writes like a novelist. Her prose is clear and exact but also profoundly moving... This is a lyrical, beautifully argued, deep and deeply troubling book and in all respects but one an easy read' Evening Standard

Book Description

A beautifully written, heartfelt response to the untolled epidemic of suicide

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0330481797
• ISBN 13: 9780330481793
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 448