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Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide

Kay Redfield Jamison (Goodreads Author)

4.11 · Rating details · 5,974 ratings · 285 reviews

From the author of the best-selling memoir An Unquiet Mind, comes the first major book in a quarter century on suicide, and its terrible pull on the young in particular. Night Falls Fast is tragically timely: suicide has become one of the most common killers of Americans between the ages of fifteen and forty-five.

An internationally acknowledged authority on depressive illn ...more

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Paperback, 432 pages

Published October 10th 2000 by Vintage (first published March 28th 1999)

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Apr 28, 2013 Mike rated it liked it

I'm reluctant to commit to "paper" the thoughts and feelings that Night Falls Fast evoked. It's - obviously - going to function as a triggering experience for many depressed people. And it will be very distressing for people who have either considered, romanticized, or settled on suicide. Chronicling my emotional engagement with the book here - going through all of that again - would be too exhausting. It's something, truth be told, I want to put behind me.

An important thing for sufferers of dep I'm reluctant to commit to "paper" the thoughts and feelings that Night Falls Fast evoked. It's - obviously - going to function as a triggering experience for many depressed people. And it will be very distressing for people who have either considered, romanticized, or settled on suicide. Chronicling my emotional engagement with the book here - going through all of that again - would be too exhausting. It's something, truth be told, I want to put behind me.

An important thing for sufferers of depression who are considering suicide is that they know they are not alone. Night Falls Fast all too often stresses how singular the suffering is, often how difficult it is to express and impossible to communicate. That is true. But it comes very subtly with the conclusion that, well, yes, it's incredibly isolating. As a depressed person, I felt more alone and "outside." It talks at length about how the proximity of pertinent or salient suicides will often lead to "suicide clusters" or imitative behavior, and yet here we have a book that discusses all facets of the crime. It may not condone the romanticization or the arguments by which suicides come to their resolutions, but it mentions them, and I can't imagine it would be less than frightening if those arguments sounded familiar to the reader. I am by no means saying Night Falls Fast is hypocritical, or doing the wrong thing. Just be careful.

To the book's detriment it spends a lot of time on inconclusive findings but still plants the seed of possibility-of-truth, which I think can mess with your head. The phrase "is x times more likely than" occurs more often than my brain can fitfully process. The statistics and neurological components are fine, but disorienting. People seeking some answers in Night Falls Fast will find a sobering amount of inconclusiveness and debate. Once again there are confusing roadblocks due to statistical methodologies and research ethics, and it once again comes down to ferreting out the "nurture" from the "nature," as it so often is with everything. Insofar as I've come to "understand suicide" from the book, well...I don't know. A lot of it has been illuminated, for better or for worse. For worse, possibly, depending on who you are. Just be careful.

The greatness of the book is in its framing of suicide as a public health problem, and its framing of firearms control as in conjunction with mental health. Nothing so elegantly links the gun control issue to mental health quite like the amount of people who murder themselves by blowing their own heads off. Suicide kills so, so, so many people. It is violent and impulsive more often than not, and guns help that along. Yet I don't remember suicide entering the gun control debate; we're mostly concerned with if they will kill others. Sadly, the odds are that, if you are shot with a gun, it's by your own hand. The best parts of this book - the Meriwether Lewis essay is excellent, by the by - are the ones that frame suicide as a public health problem and the product of a life-threatening illness. That is a new perspective for me: it can be an offshoot of a violent, impulsive culture. I find great comfort in relinquishing the total control of the depression sufferer of his or her own life. We have so little control of anything. See what kind of head-space this book can put you in? Just be careful.

Depressed people may find themselves empathizing with the self-condemned here, and not in the healthiest way. It gives some reports about the recovery of the living and the loved ones that will probably be more "encouraging" than not. If you want to kill yourself and the only thing holding you back is how it will hurt those around you, do not read this book. It gives hope to those left behind, but if you're thinking about leaving people behind, just be careful.

I would never kill myself. But in my copy of the book, there is a line that says suicide is a "permanent solution to a temporary problem." But I managed to write in the side, "But what if living is the problem?" Life is still temporary, of course. I don't think I've entered as dark a head-space. Sometimes looking to empathize and understand others and their actions will mess with your head more than is healthy. It's a good book, but for the love of Christ, be careful.
...more

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Jun 04, 2014 Thomas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology, nonfiction, own-physical, five-stars

"Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated. There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly. The suffering of the suicidal is private and inexpressible, leaving family members, friends, and colleagues to deal with an almost unfathomable kind of loss, as well as guilt. Suicide carries in its aftermath a level of confusion and devastation that is, for the mo "Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated. There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly. The suffering of the suicidal is private and inexpressible, leaving family members, friends, and colleagues to deal with an almost unfathomable kind of loss, as well as guilt. Suicide carries in its aftermath a level of confusion and devastation that is, for the most part, beyond description."

A gripping, masterful book about a topic shrouded in horror and sadness. Clinical psychologist and bestselling author of memoir An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison delves into the issue of suicide with precision and aplomb. She treats the subject with a fitting mixture of objective analysis and emotion, never forgetting her main goal: to illuminate the darkness surrounding suicide so that we can better understand and prevent it. Jamison shows her empathy for those left behind in this passage:

"All of what our colleague said was true, however. Suicide is awful beyond expression for those who have to spend their lives with its reality. No one who is parent or child, a brother or a sister, a friend, a doctor or a patient would say otherwise. Most would agree with him that it is, on the face of it, a selfish act; most have yelled in their hearts, if not out loud, 'How could you have done this to me?' All have asked themselves over and over again, and then a thousand times beyond, Why? What could I have done differently? Why?"

Just by writing this book Jamison acts as an inspiration, as she highlights how she, an attempt survivor, can benefit others as well as herself by contributing her time and knowledge to the topic of suicide. She examines multiple facets of suicide: its history, its connotations, its psychological implications, its biological underpinnings, and more. Redfield exhibits her research experience by going into specific detail within several areas, such as within the section about methods and through all of the well-known figures she includes, ranging from Meriwether Lewis to John Wilson. She incorporates personal letters and journals of those who have died by suicide, alongside statistics about suicide and ways to ensure the media portrays the issue with due sensitivity. A quote that stood out to me from the chapter about neurobiology and neuropathology:

"Alone, a single risk factor - either predisposing or precipitating - may only slightly increase the odds that an individual will kill himself. But some, such as a genetic or other biological predisposition, especially when coupled with a severe psychiatric disorder, are particularly ominous. When the threshold is set low from birth and the triggers kick in, the likelihood of suicide may become unstoppably high. A slight affront or loss may quickly create a flash point from a lethal mix of elements. It is as with fire: dry grass and high winds may remain, in themselves, only dangerous possibilities, elements of combustion. But if lightning falls across the grass, the chance of fire increases blindingly fast: it leaps from slim to given."

Overall, a difficult, thorough, and worthwhile read I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic of suicide and feels that they stand in a healthful place of mind to engage with the subject. Jamison treats the issue with the seriousness it deserves, as well as the empathy it requires. She emerges as a brave and fierce voice, an educated champion shedding light on the issue of mental health, a matter that touches us all. ...more

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Jan 31, 2008 Kirsten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-pre-12-07, non-fiction, mental-health, from-library, psych-and-neuroscience

Jamison begins this excellent book by describing suicide in the same terms that one might describe a particularly awful disease: "Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated," she writes. "There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly." This sets the tone for the book, which is unflinching and frequently painful to read, yet the author also infuses the inf Jamison begins this excellent book by describing suicide in the same terms that one might describe a particularly awful disease: "Suicide is a particularly awful way to die: the mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense, and unpalliated," she writes. "There is no morphine equivalent to ease the acute pain, and death not uncommonly is violent and grisly." This sets the tone for the book, which is unflinching and frequently painful to read, yet the author also infuses the information and narratives with a deep sense of compassion and understanding.

After reading William Styron's excellent Darkness Visible, I was struck with the way that many memoirs and other books on depression dance around the subject of suicide. Just about every depressive's memoir describes the author's bout of suicidal ideation or his or her suicide attempt, yet at the same time many books on depression seem to go out of their way to divorce suicide from depression and manic-depressive illness. There is a strong desire, it seems, to stress that not everyone who is depressive will attempt or commit suicide, and that not everyone who commits suicide is depressive or otherwise mentally ill. While this is true, it also muddies the very strong connection between mental illness and suicide, perhaps to the detriment of many.

Jamison seeks to remedy this by very strongly stating that suicide is indeed most common in people with mental illness, diagnosed or not, and backs up this claim with a great deal of research. She also explores research into when people are at their most vulnerable, which is sometimes surprising. For example, one of the most dangerous times in terms of suicide is the period directly after a patient has been released from the hospital. At first this seems counterintuitive, but it actually makes sense -- if someone has been hospitalized for depression or another mental illness, they have been in a fairly sheltered and safe environment. Upon release, however, not only is the patient suddenly confronted with the problem of picking up their life where they left off and dealing with practicalities like returning to work and daily life, but there is also an increased risk of medication noncompliance. Jamison also elaborates on one theory as to why some suicides seem to be provoked by the use of antidepressants: in many cases, when a person is deep in the throes of depression, they lack the energy and wherewithal to carry out suicide plans. Perversely, once the antidepressants begin to work, the patient starts to feel just well enough to carry out plans they had only considered before.

Jamison is also not afraid to bring a human element to the book. Interspersed with her clear reportage of scientific research into suicide are specific accounts of individuals who committed or attempted suicide -- including Jamison herself.

Overall, I feel like this is a cruicially important book. It's especially useful to those who have come into contact in some way with mental illness and suicide, but I think pretty much everyone could benefit from reading it and achieving greater understanding of this issue.

...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Heather rated it liked it

Lots of good information abounds in this book. I appreciated the mixture of clinical information and artistic commentary on the subject. But as a sibling of someone who committed suicide I am left with one question/concern. What of all those out there who are mentally ill and tending towards suicide who can not get help. What of the men who can not hold steady jobs, who are in and out of jail, who end up in half-way houses or on the street. What of the ill who have no health insurance, who can n ...more

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Jul 05, 2007 stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology, would-rec, suicide

one of the best books i have seen on suicide, i should go back and read it once i finish the books i am working on now.

her prose is very accessible - i can't emphasize how important and rare this is in psychological writing - in that she doesn't get caught up in jargon or theory. she knows how to personalize the subject matter, and make it relevant.

the truth is, if you haven't had a suicidal impulse, then you know someone that has. this book does an excellent job of illustrating why that urge ...more

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May 13, 2019 Amy Bruestle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: work-related-texts

Wow. What a great book! I can’t tell you how much I learned just from reading this book alone! There were so many different subjects, all relating to suicide in one way or another, and from all different kinds of places, time periods, etc. it was actually surprisingly readable and interesting! I wanted to give it a chance, but I really didn’t think that I would eead the whole thing...but I did! It even touches on Lewis and Clark! I’ve truly learned so much from this text! This is probably one of ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Shelby Kollin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, mental-health

"Shortly before he killed himself, D.C. Council Chairman John Wilson spoke to the Mental Health Association about suicide and mental illness in the black community. 'Suicide,' he said, 'is the number one killer among young black people, but we call it gunfire. . . . We don't even like to talk about it. We've got to change the way America feels about depression.' He was right, as usual."

"A young chemist, before committing suicide, put it succinctly: 'The question of suicide and selfishness to clo "Shortly before he killed himself, D.C. Council Chairman John Wilson spoke to the Mental Health Association about suicide and mental illness in the black community. 'Suicide,' he said, 'is the number one killer among young black people, but we call it gunfire. . . . We don't even like to talk about it. We've got to change the way America feels about depression.' He was right, as usual."

"A young chemist, before committing suicide, put it succinctly: 'The question of suicide and selfishness to close friends and relative is one that I can't answer or even given an opinion. It is obvious, however, that I have pondered it and decided I would hurt them less dead than alive.'"

If I could leave a quote from each chapter in my review, I would. Kay Redfield Jamison writes a non-fiction book on suicide with facts, emotion, and a haunting mood that matches the depths of a mind in its darkest place. The author has attempted suicide herself and she went to emotionally painful lengths to talk with many other suicidal people in order to get the serious impact of the issues of suicide on paper.

My father killed himself by hanging in November 2006 when I was 14 years old. I've talked with many others who have lost someone to suicide and their stories, reactions, feelings, and opinions on the subject have all been different from mine. Jamison covers it all from what I could see. I learned so much about many different mental health conditions (especially bipolar disorder and clinical depression,) about the difference in mourning between that of a spouse, child, sibling, parent, or friend left behind, about how media can help spread the contagion of suicide or help prevent it, about how we can all help ourselves, our loved ones, and even strangers who are suffering from any condition that puts them at a high risk for suicide.

This book was published in 1999 and I'm only just now reading it in 2019, but most of it is still very relevant and important. I highly recommend to anyone who wants to better understand an illness that currently ranks as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. I was concerned it would be boring and tedious to read with the amount of data, statistics, and facts that were in it, but the author adds in poetry and letters and essays and all kinds of other emotional factors that helped make this a great read and easy to understand. ...more

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Dec 27, 2007 Amy rated it really liked it

If you have ever been close to someone who has completed suicide, please consider reading this book. This is the definitive book on suicide and examines the topic through many different lenses (personal, psychological, sociological, historical, legal etc) with expertise and care. Dr. Kay Jamison, who is the world's leading expert on bipolar disorder, and is also a multiple suicide attempt survivor herself, does an excellent job at examining the subject in an easily accessible manner.
I read this ...more

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Feb 26, 2014 Anne Jordan-Baker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

In the epilogue, Kay Redfield Jamison writes, "I was naive to underestimate how disturbing it would be to write this book." I bet. It was disturbing to read, too. I love good nonfiction, and this is it: beautiful structure, sentences that I wish I could write, clarity, poetry. Breathtaking. On the other hand, the subject matter is a horror: suicide, which is an ugly and gritty reality that cannot be made pretty or ok. I loved this book, but it was definitely disorienting in its attention to such ...more

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Jul 08, 2009 rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: true-story, heartbreakers, 2008

Suicide, both the completed act and ideation of, is a subject that I've had to deal with much more than I'd care to. I made the mistake of reading this book while on a bus back to college and what I remember most of the experience is how embarrassing it was to be sitting next to a stranger, making a deeply personal connection with a book and crying without restraint.

But, if you think of all of the smart, creative, generous people whose lives have been cut short by depression culminating in suic ...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Kelly rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology, science, medicine

4.5 stars.

I can't in good conscience review this book without first stating some very important qualifications (the actual review starts in the next paragraph). This book is NOT meant to provide therapeutic-type "understanding" to the acutely suicidal. If you are severely depressed or seriously suicidal, DO NOT read this book. If you know someone who is depressed or suicidal, DO NOT give them this book to read (though it may very well be helpful for you to read as a friend or caregiver). The fra 4.5 stars.

I can't in good conscience review this book without first stating some very important qualifications (the actual review starts in the next paragraph). This book is NOT meant to provide therapeutic-type "understanding" to the acutely suicidal. If you are severely depressed or seriously suicidal, DO NOT read this book. If you know someone who is depressed or suicidal, DO NOT give them this book to read (though it may very well be helpful for you to read as a friend or caregiver). The frankness of its description of the suicidal mind is more likely to make depressive symptoms worse than otherwise, and while it doesn't romanticize suicide or provide a how-to manual in any sort of way, it would definitely put ideas into a suicidal person's mind that they would be better off not thinking about now. Those who have suffered depression, other mental illnesses, or suicidal episodes in the past may find a lot of value here (the author herself has bipolar disorder and has previously been suicidal, including attempting suicide). But they should exercise caution in reading it. Don't stick with it if it's making you feel worse.

My interest in suicide is both academic (I study psychology, and while it's not my research area, I find mental illness interesting) and personal (a good friend of mine killed himself when I was in college). Still, I was hesitant to commit to reading a whole long book about the subject. But Jamison's book came highly recommended, and I had also been impressed by the scholarly articles of hers I'd read.

NIGHT FALLS FAST is excellently written, but certainly not for the faint of heart. Jamison doesn't shy away at all from describing the despair felt by the suicidal person or the tragedy of suicide, and sometimes (though not overly often) includes grisly details. As a result, some sections, especially those containing personal stories, are harrowing and very difficult to read. The book's unflinching portrayal of the darkness of suicide is even more impressive given Jamison's own psychiatric history (she has bipolar disorder and has made at least one serious--near-fatal--suicide attempt). I have immense respect for her for turning her own personal struggles into an area of research and discussing them so matter-of-factly, but I imagine this probably made parts of writing this book extremely difficult. She is obviously very passionate about the subject, and about suicide prevention in particular. Her outrage that suicide is not more in the public consciousness and that more is not being done to prevent it (among other things, she takes issue with gun availability, some aspects of the psychiatric hospitalization process, media glorification of suicide, and "suicide awareness" programs that downplay the link between suicide and mental illness) is evident throughout the book.

The book's account of the then-current (it was published in 1999) science of suicide is impressively balanced and thorough, drawing from research on biological psychology, psychopharmacology, neuroscience, clinical psychiatry and psychology, and public health. The tone is not dry, but the reliance on statistics (while simultaneously not explaining important statistical concepts that come up multiple times) may be confusing for lay readers. I have also heard from some non-scientist readers that they found it frustrating that the book presents so many unanswered questions and unresolved debates, seeming not to want to "take a side." As a psychologist, I understand that this is because many (if not most) of the important scientific questions about the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and care of the suicidal are still unanswered and thus accurately reflects the state of the science (and to a certain extent the sceience of medicine as a whole) but I recognize that non-scientists might find it off-putting.

Reading from a "someone I know committed suicide" perspective, while the chapter directly addressing issues faced by those left behind by suicide is relatively short, there is a fair amount of helpful (it helped me, anyway) information and insight in here, if one can stomach the subject matter as a whole (which is not a given--I know I wouldn't have been able to even a year or so ago). The book addresses many of the worries and "myths" about suicide that seem to most plague those left behind, such as that a single precipitating event caused the suicide or a single action on someone's part could have prevented it (at least in the long term), that most people who commit suicide are angry at loved ones or friends, that someone who's life is "going so well" wouldn't commit suicide, and similar, and backs them up with data and statistics. Some may find this information comforting. Personally, I even found learning that most people who commit suicide don't leave notes to be helpful. What the book makes clear again and again is that people who commit suicide don't address (at least not in the same way) the "rational" considerations about life prospects, affect on loved ones, and so on that so preoccupy those they leave behind. This is precisely because it is in the nature of their mental illness that they cannot do so. Though some may find it difficult to hear, I suspect others will find somewhat of a relief in this book's repeated because the emotional and mental state caused by their illness means they are incapable of doing so. Given that our society and the media emphasize individual events when discussing precipitants of suicide and thus the public perception leans this way, I think the emphasis on the sheer weight of "he / she was very sick" against any other considerations is helpful. ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Jason rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bipolar-inside-out

expertly examining a difficult subject The applicability of this book to my life is not appropriate. This book is far too academic for my CURRENT taste. I would have chewed this one up in seconds in graduate school, but alas that was two years ago and reading this just brought about stress. THAT SAID, its amazing, well written, well researched, and carefully constructed. It is by far the best book on suicide, and the most approachable that I have EVER read. it's a shame graduate school did not f expertly examining a difficult subject The applicability of this book to my life is not appropriate. This book is far too academic for my CURRENT taste. I would have chewed this one up in seconds in graduate school, but alas that was two years ago and reading this just brought about stress. THAT SAID, its amazing, well written, well researched, and carefully constructed. It is by far the best book on suicide, and the most approachable that I have EVER read. it's a shame graduate school did not force us to read this one.

the book is finely tuned. Each chapter has numerous vignettes which support, lead into, or develop each chapter. the chapters are well researched (really, really well) and easily understood. My only recommendation is that burn out can be quite high if read front to cover as one would read a novel. the content is unforgiving, raw, and very easily conveyed. Study after study is explored with personal reflection (if one has read her previous books you may get a faint echo of unquiet mind). My mind, however was not quiet while reading this and is still spinning; very very fast. there is A TON of information in this book; enough so that i must purchase a copy and highlight the hell out of it.

there is information in here for anyone; clients, change agents, allies, etc!

read with caution, however for both its content is unforgiving and will, even if you have no experience with suicide, stir you and cause an overwhelming urge to scream/cry/put the book down wide eyed... or just go take a long cold shower. (i did all of the above, twice).

i enjoyed the first 150 pages the most, as they felt more personable.... and then my attention was then pulled back in during the discussion of the brain, diet, etc. Bite this one off in sections, and take your time. weave it in and out with another book, because it will consume you.

Oh and onward to one complaint. I would have enjoyed this book more if it was mirrored with something else. perhaps it it wasnt fully focused on suicide, but i really have NO idea what i would pair it with. All i know is that im exhausted and going for a long, long walk through the city.

Post notes: i actually re-read portions (particularly those related to treatment)—since my brain was fried, my emotions jagged and non-existent, and my body physically tired, from reading this—and i have to say, that revisiting these sections was rewarding. ...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide or was considering ending their own life.

This was one of the books that helped me out of a very dangerous frame of mind. Reading about other people in despair helped me realize I was stronger than I thought, that things could get better, and that I could seek help if I needed it.

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Jun 18, 2019 Ivana rated it really liked it

This is a really difficult book to read. Jamison offers a unique perspective on mental illness and suicide- both as a psychiatrist and someone suffering from mental illness. Parts of this book are harrowing.

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Feb 22, 2018 Felicia rated it really liked it

This is very poignant, all I could think was wow there are people who can put these feelings into words. I read this while severely depressed and while not depressed. its interesting for me to contrast my mental state while reading this. I'd like for more neural typical people to read this to grasp an understanding and hopefully break the taboo. ...more

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Oct 30, 2011 John Jr. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: play-project-1, suicide-studies

Read as research for a play about suicide. There's much to value here, particularly the individual cases recounted.

On the other hand, there are problems. One of the book's annoyances is Jamison's excessive fondness for statistics. A greater shortcoming is that she writes confidently from one side of a still unsettled question about the relationship between the mind and the brain, assuming that what happens at a neurochemical level in the brain is the cause of what happens in the mind in terms of ...more

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Aug 13, 2009 Anne rated it really liked it

After several teen suicides and attempted suicides in my hometown this past year, I started to feel incredibly helpless. Despite the obvious sadness of young lives lost, I felt overwhelming frustration. It is often easy for people to dismiss teen suicide as the result of immaturity or a lack of perspective - heartbreak over unrequited love or a rejection letter from Harvard. What people ignore is the reality - that the majority of suicides, those of teenagers and adults - are the result of choni ...more

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Aug 15, 2013 Peacegal rated it really liked it

I've long thought that those people who claim that they have never considered suicide, and that there are no circumstances under which they would commit suicide, are liars.

Night Falls Fast wasn't quite as intriguing as the similarly-themed Savage God, but there is still a lot to learn here. Throughout the book, Jamison describes experiments upon animals to create conditions of stress and depression. Such experiments seem to be exemplary of the wastefulness of vivisection, as stress, depression, ...more

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Sep 29, 2014 Sue rated it liked it

Shelves: psychology

After losing a cousin to suicide this summer, I thought I would try (too late) to understand. I found nothing astonishing in this book, though it is beautifully written. My cousin, at age 54, did not fall within the parameters of this book, which the author states is a study of suicide in the young (defined as under age 45). I wish Ms. Jamison would write another book focusing on suicide among those older than 45, which would include my cousin and, more famously, Robin Williams. Have those who h ...more

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Nov 30, 2007 Pat spain rated it really liked it

It was a phenomenal book...but much like "Requiem for a Dream"...it will kil your day / week.

I still hate Joe for suggesting I take this on a greyhound bus-trip for some, in his words "light reading". Asshole.

There is a chapter in this book which contains actual suicide notes from people from various time periods and walks of life, some sad, some angry, some strangely happy, all intent on ending their own lives. It's the most disturbing chapter of any book I have ever read.
...more

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Feb 01, 2008 Nathan Sharpe rated it it was amazing

this book is not for the faint of heart. it is extremly heavy. however it does discuss a subject that is extremly misunderstood and kills as many people as many of the major physical diseases and for that reason required my reading.

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Mar 07, 2013 Carri Anderson rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Carri by: Several docters in the field of Mental Heatlh

Shelves: dymamic-truths

This is by far the best and most truthful book describing the suicidal mind and thoughts. Not only does this book bluntly let you see what drives many people and types to suicide, it also gives in depth description of how it effects each family member and friend. I have read this book 3 times.

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Mar 02, 2020 Sophy H rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychology

A very well written, highly researched, sensitively handled book on an extremely difficult and divisive subject.

Jamison is absolutely the right person to be writing about this.

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Feb 07, 2020 Katie rated it liked it

Not a self-help book, this is a comprehensive non-fiction study of suicide across the world and throughout history. Different cultures are studied, causes of suicide, changes over time, age breakdown, and what people think about it, write about it, and ways they to attempt to curtail it.

Like other mental illness, there are ties to creativity involved here, as well as adventurousness/impulsiveness. I thought this part was interesting and I've read it before: that some of us are timid and some of ...more

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May 01, 2020 Jj Burch rated it liked it

A very interesting book on suicide. Nothing blew me away, although the science of prevention was quite interesting.

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Aug 31, 2020 Rachel rated it really liked it

Letter to the author:

Dear Dr. Jamison,
In early July I lost my son to suicide. This was the second suicide in my family, because in 2013 his father, my ex husband of just a few weeks post divorce killed himself four days before what would have been our 28th wedding anniversary. The first suicide was a huge blow to our family and both my son and I together attended the same suicide bereavement group program at the Wendt Center in Washington DC. Sadly, I did not find Night Falls Fast back in 2013. ...more

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Sep 06, 2018 Rachel rated it it was ok

Finally. My least favorite we've read for the NASW book club so far. Didn't engage me, felt like I didn't get much new info. ...more

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Dec 15, 2019 Alien B rated it liked it

Shelves: life-and-death, suicide, trauma

What to say ... what to say .... It started out great and progressively got more disappointing.

The fact that this is one of the top suicide books that comes up on goodreads is telling of how little there is written about suicide. This somewhat outdated book aims at understanding suicide as a phenomenon but doesn't fully deliver.

As I started reading it I enjoyed it - especially the statistics on average length of a suicide note, the fact that suicidal people often see a doctor in the month bef What to say ... what to say .... It started out great and progressively got more disappointing.

The fact that this is one of the top suicide books that comes up on goodreads is telling of how little there is written about suicide. This somewhat outdated book aims at understanding suicide as a phenomenon but doesn't fully deliver.

As I started reading it I enjoyed it - especially the statistics on average length of a suicide note, the fact that suicidal people often see a doctor in the month before suicide, that summer is the most popular time for a suicide. The documentation of people's suicidal journals and suicide notes were very relevant and one of the strengths of the book (to see the insider view of suicide and not the outsider medicalization of it.)

Still it seems very little is said about causes besides the "disease" model that this book espouses. Besides the mass statistics there are not many deep dives into which symptoms start first, which circumstances and mental states are associated with suicide.

The final chapters were most disappointing - under researched, highly opinion based and seemingly outdated. It claims that there are no long lasting effects of a parent's suicide on a child, when most recent trauma research shows that death of a parent during a someone's childhood is highly correlated with depression in adulthood. I will assume the discrepancy comes from this book being 2 decades old.

The final chapter just keep repeating that suicidal people cannot keep their pain to themselves, so it reaches their friends and families. There's little research in the book to back it up, and little said about the people who commit suicide without sharing their pain with friends and family. It just seems like some kind of guilt ridden, personal opinion the author holds, that she couldn't keep out of the book.

The biggest weak point is the author's inability to handle nuance surrounding suicide besides the disease model. The book just keeps hitting you with "suicide is a result of mental disease. Medicate the disease and solve the suicide!" Suicide is a far more complex issue than this model suggests, so by the end of the book I was surprised at how little this book really dived into the causes and circumstances of suicide. "Understanding Suicide" is right in the title, and somehow... I feel that this book didn't fulfill it's promise.

TLDR:

Strengths: Some interesting statistics, insider accounts, non-judgmental writing.

Weaknesses: Considers only the disease model of suicide, not very nuanced or very deep exploration, some parts are colored with personal opinion rather than research. ...more

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Aug 13, 2014 Genna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I first want to preface my review by mentioning that the young man who recommended this book, in the wake of Robin Williams' suicide, warned me and others that it had been a difficult (emotionally) read and that he'd caution others against picking it up lightly, as many might find it to be triggering or damaging to their own emotional states. I had no such problems, but I have also not yet been faced with less than two degrees of separation from suicide (extended family that I either did not kno ...more

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Jun 29, 2019 Krysztina rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, psychology

First things first: If you're emotionally vulnerable, and particularly if you're going through a crisis right now, you might want to skip this book for now. Night Falls Fast discusses, among other things, specific suicide methods, as well as several prominent suicides (and more than a handful of deaths by suicide of people who weren't well-known before their passing). I found it deeply unsettling at times; I can only imagine what it must be like for someone in an acute moment of crisis reading s ...more

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About Kay Redfield Jamison

Kay Redfield Jamison

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Kay Redfield Jamison (born June 22, 1946) is an American clinical psychologist and writer who is one of the foremost experts on bipolar disorder. She is Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and is an Honorary Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.

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An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament

Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire: A Study of Genius, Mania, and Character

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Kerine Wint is a software engineering graduate with more love for books than for computers. As an avid reader, writer, and fan of all things...

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“When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental domain. The future cannot be separated from the present, and the present is painful beyond solace. ‘This is my last experiment,’ wrote a young chemist in his suicide note. ‘If there is any eternal torment worse than mine I’ll have to be shown.” — 287 likes

“Suicide is not a blot on anyone’s name; it is a tragedy ” — 133 likes

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