Review of I of the Storm: Understanding the Suicidal Mind by David Lester
In the preface of I of the Storm, Lester introduces his purpose for writing this book. He states that, although he is a suicidologist and has published many things on suicide, he doesn’t know exactly why it is that people kill themselves. Lester is a former President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and has PhDs from Cambridge University and Brandeis University, making him qualified to speak on this matter. I of the Storm is mainly direct toward those who wish to understand suicide and why people commit it. His book is very informative, using analyses of examples and statistics to delve into the patterns of those who kill themselves to see why
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With each analysis the reader gets a greater understanding of suicide and the mental state of those who commit it, as well as some of their motives. One could read only a single chapter of this book and gain a greater understanding than they previously had on the topic of suicide, but when one brings all the chapters together as a whole a much deeper understanding is obtained. Lester’s analyses start with diaries, using that of a girl he has called Katie as his first example. In this 14 page chapter he analyses her diary, not only comparing her to Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but using that comparison to show some of her motives and to make sense of them. It is this astute analysis that sets the tone for the rest of the similar chapters, in a way that is not boring but is not lighthearted in the slightest. The way that the whole book works together to give one insight on the topic of suicide makes it a useful resource for those who wish to understand it in a more in-depth way. I of the Storm is broken up into multiple parts, these being The Study of Diaries, Studies of Suicide Notes, and Studies Of Other Written Materials. While each chapter has a different layout, they all have one thing in common, and that is that they each end with some form …show more content…
Ashley and Katie are both young women, being ages eighteen and twenty. They both experienced sexual abuse from their fathers during their childhood, which put a strain on their mental state. They both had relationship issues, something that teenagers typically experience quite often. The analyses of their personal writings offers and insight into the minds of teenagers that is very valuable. Their thoughts and feelings are like those of teenagers, making their mental state and viewpoints comparable. In the Discussion section of Twitter Postings in the 24 Hours Prior to Suicide Lester references consistencies in the language used by both Katie and Ashley, as well as their feelings. While not statistically significant, these similarities show that these two girls had similar feelings that could possibly be related to teenagers in general, making these two chapters combined a fair educational resource for those studying adolescent
Throughout her book Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist, describes the behaviors and relationships of adolescent teen girls. She explores the issues that most of her patients have in common: parents and divorce, depression, weight, drugs, alcohol, violence, and sex. Pipher provides examples of girls who had suffered from each category, and ends with a generalization that connects each situation to a deeper meaning. Although parents and daughters are somewhat to blame in each occasion, Pipher holds the corrupt modern culture of western society accountable. She believes that the idealized image of girls that the media puts out is the root of most adolescent insecurities. In Reviving Ophelia, Pipher draws attention to the increasing need for female teen awareness and incorporates the methods she suggests to the struggling families.
In this book therapist Mary Pipher writes about her experiences at work with adolescent girls. It is intended to make the reader aware of the perils of being a teenager in today's sexualized and media-saturated culture. She talks about how this new and more hostile environment affects adolescent girls' emotional growth and development, and how hard it is to stay true to yourself while trying to fit in with peers. For the most part this book is Dr. Pipher's attempt to reach out to adolescents, as well as their parents and teachers, and tell them that this "problem without a name" is not a death sentence but rather a journey to adulthood, and tells adults how to help these impressionable young girls through what might be the most trying period of their lives.
Let’s answer this question point blank: No, Chris McCandless, the ‘adventurer extraordinaire’, was not a suicidal human being. Was that too blunt? Got high off of it? Need explanation? Ok, well here are the reasons why; he knew the risks of taking the perilous journey to go “Into the Wild”, if he wanted to die, he would’ve done it sooner and the friendships that he made with people and his notebook (journal?) were far too strong. Those three reasons are why I think he didn’t end his life.
This coursework focuses on how each character contributes to the suicide of a poor girl Eva Smith/Daisy Renton.
Suicide often follows depression, proving false the stereotype of depression being only general sadness. Depression can be anything from temporary to extreme, and from insignificant to greatly significant. What significant might be characterized as could be the outcome of a loss of ones life. In a case where a woman's husband committed suicide, the woman later said, "'He was like anybody else with depression. But it was much more extreme than he ever let us know'" (Robinson, R. 33). However, Ona Leong appeared no different up to the day that she jumped; never even appearing depressed. Throughout the novel, the impact of suicide is seen from within the home, leading back to early childhood.
In “Suicide Note” composed by Janice Mirikitani, Mirkitani describes the speaker as a college student who kills herself after not receiving a perfect grade point average. When people look at her body lying down on a cover of snow, they perceive that her suicide is due to her inability to become perfect. However, on a deeper meaning, the suicide symbolizes her inability to realize the concepts of family love, hard work, and happiness. To begin with, when Mirkitani’s speaker experiences the stress from her parents as a daughter, she compares herself to a son in the family. The speaker describes herself as “if only [she] were a son,.
In Jay Asher’s Novel Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), the characters struggle through many different ideas as they cope with how they played a role in Hannah Baker’s decision to commit suicide. While the idea of being the reason someone chooses to take their own life is not an easy thought to wrap one’s head around, and a thought that no one would even like to consider is true, Asher takes on this idea and helps teenagers come to terms with suicide. Thirteen Reasons Why forces the reader to reflect on the idea that every choice that one makes has an impact on everyone and everything around them.
Youth Suicide is one of the leading causes of youth death. In fact, statistics show that approximately 4600 teens commit suicide each year in the US (2013). One of the principal reasons why teens commit suicide is due to the fact that others have a huge negative impact on the teen's life. To prevent less deaths, one should learn that everything has consequences to it so one should consider how they affect others through actions and words. That is one of the central themes that Jay Asher shows in his book, Thirteen Reasons Why. He demonstrates the message by creating the tapes to represent the theme in the book. Asher also shows it by developing two strong lead characters, Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen.
Suicide Note by Janice Mirikitani, is a heartbreaking poem of a young woman who commits suicide. All of her feelings and emotions are left behind in her last note. As thoughts of not feeling worthy enough over take this young girl, she writes her final thoughts and apologies to her mother and father. As such a catastrophic event happens Mirikitani’s use of metaphors and descriptive writing take you to the young girl’s final moments. Making you wish you could reach out and stop her from jumping off the ledge that icy winter night.
In life, changes mark a new chapters in one’s journey and it happens in a variety of ways alongside a variety of people. The short essay “Suicide’s Forgotten Victims” by Lisa Keiski and the excerpt from the novel That Night by Alice McDermott both demonstrate how young people gain valuable lessons from the experiences they go through. From these happenings, they start to get a larger perspective on life and thus become more knowledgeable about everything around them, ultimately maturing in the process. Keiski and the children learn from society, authority figures, and peers.
Suicides are a grave display of human discontent with life that is especially disheartening when enacted by youths. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measures the occurrence of suicides in the country using a ratio that expresses the number of suicides per every 100,000 people in the population for which the rate is being reported. According to the CDC, death by suicide amongst younger groups is significantly lower than those of older groups, yet it is the third leading cause of death amongst those ages fifteen to twenty-four. Additionally, CDC has gathered statistics that estimate suicides amongst males are nearly four times higher than females – 19.95 and 5.15 respectively. Certain studies have even shown that urban dwellers are at increased risk of suicide than those in rural areas. In Jeffrey Eugenide’s novel, The Virgin Suicides, he writes about a group of sisters (the Lisbon sisters) who are basically confined to their suburban home by their overly protective and oppressive mother and eventually, following suit of their youngest sister, commit suicide. There are many factors that may have lead up to the group of girls taking their lives such as a lack of sufficient social opportunity due to their mother nearly completely isolating them from the world outside their home or their exposure to the suicidal behavior of their sister, Cecilia. Furthermore, heir suicides could even be due to a mental disorder such as depression and bi-polar disorder, Schizophrenia, conduct disorder, or anxiety, or an unknown past family history of suicide – even though Eugenides didn’t mention it – but the real reason for their suicides are never disclosed. What is left is a group of girls who both follow and challenge the statistical evidence that has been gathered today regarding suicides; that is, they were less likely to take their own life being adolescents
...e becomes a misanthrope who considers suicide and withdraws from the company of others. Through these fictional characters, the readers can understand the importance of choosing the healthy ways to cope with terrible events that happen in their lives instead of the dysfunctional ways that the characters chose.
Suicide is a very dark topic that is covered very thoroughly in this book. Hannah Baker is not able to save herself in the end, but hopefully this book can shine a light on and spread awareness to the issue of suicide, and help people know that every life is precious an every life matters substantially, and that there is hope along with people who truly care. In this journal, I predicted that Clay would help Skye, questioned why Justin and Hannah didn’t say anything, and connected Hannah Baker to Taylor
In considering people`s motives for killing themselves, it is essential to recognize that most suicides are driven by a flash flood of strong emotions, not rational, philosophical thoughts in which the pros and cons are evaluated critically; Alaska was obviously not in a stable state of mind due to her intense emotions and intoxication. Step one is defined as falling short of standards. Statistically, suicide rates are higher in nation with higher standards of living. Such idealistic conditions heighten suicide risk considering the creation of unreasonable standards for personal happiness. Step two is attributions to self. For a suicide to occur, it is seen as a necessary for one to loathe themselves for facing the troubles they find themselves in. For example, Alaska mercilessly accepts complete blame for her mother’s death. Alaska demonizes herself in response to negative turn of events. Feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt, and inadequacy leads suicidal people to dislike themselves in a manner that, essentially, cleaves those who are suicidal from an idealized humanity. The self is seen as being enduringly undesirable; there being no hope for change with the core self being perceived as
A young, teenage girl sits with her friends, talking, laughing, and making jokes. She seems completely normal and happy, even. What people don’t know is that this is nothing but a mask covering the loneliness that seems to run through her veins, and the unexplainable sadness that never goes away. She fears speaking of it, of admitting the uncontrollable hatred she feels for everything about herself, so much that she contemplates ending it all. The fact is, suicide is the third leading cause for death in people under the age of twenty-five. Our country needs to stop seeing this as a casual thing. Depression, anxiety, and suicide in youth are real and serious issues that we need to be more aware of in today’s society.