A Special Scar

by Alison Wertheimer

Every 85 minutes someone in the UK takes their own life and the suicide rate is currently the highest since 2004. Society often reacts with unease, fear and even disapproval but what happens to those bereaved by a self-inflicted death? The reasons leading someone to take their own life are complex, and the bereavement reactions of survivors of suicide can also be complex, including shame, guilt, sadness and the effects of trauma, stigma and social isolation. It can be difficult for those personally affected by a suicide death to come to terms with their loss and seek help and support. A Special Scar looks in detail at the impact of suicide and offers practical help for survivors, relatives and friends of people who have taken their own life. Fifty bereaved people tell their stories, showing us that, by not hiding the truth from themselves and others they have been able to learn to live with the suicide, offering hope to others facing this traumatic loss. This Classic Edition includes a brand-new introduction to the work and will be an invaluable resource for survivors of suicide as well as for all those who are in contact with them, including police and coroner's officers, bereavement services, self-help organisations for survivors, mental health professionals, social workers, GPs, counsellors and therapists.

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[AJ Foiret · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book. Pretty much the only resource out there for people who've lost a loved one through suicide. This really helped through the years after I came home and found my mum hanging in the garage. This book covers topics such as finding suicide notes, the emotions caused by this kind of bereavement, the reactions of others, anniversaries, your life in the future etc. etc. This has been like a bible to me.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very digestible and well organized. Chapters cover an impressive number of aspects. They contain quotes from private persons combined with references to research and data. Chapters are well segmented and mostly independently readable. This book could have been written so much more dry and unappealing, instead, in really draws one in. Every fiction author who would want to incorporate this theme into one of their works, would gain a lot more perspective than they had before, which would likely to a much more realistic narrative.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful and relevant but a really tough read.