Top 16 Books About Suicide Updated 04 /2024

Trying to understand suicide might be one of the most difficult situations to deal with. A loved one's decision to terminate their own life might be difficult to comprehend. Authors who have been impacted by depression and suicide have shared their experiences in these five works.

Tragedy Plus Time

by Adam Cayton-Holland

Stand-up comedian Adam Cayton-Holland is a hoot. He was named one of "10 Comics to Watch" by Variety. So why would he choose to write about such a serious topic? Cayton-book, Holland's TRAGEDY PLUS TIME, in which he confronts his younger sister's melancholy and final suicide, is both devastating and amusing. Just as his career is taking off, he starts to adjust to life without her. When everything else fails, he relies on hope to keep him going. This is a wonderful book for anybody who is trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one.

The Girl Behind the Door

by John Brooks

A lot of issues remain unanswered for John Brooks after his teenage daughter leaps from the Golden Gate Bridge. Brooks tries to identify the root reason of his daughter's death by speaking to everyone he knows, including friends, teachers, counselors, therapists, and experts. During the first fourteen months of her life, she was raised in a Polish orphanage by a Polish orphanage worker. In the end, he comes to the conclusion that she suffered from severe depression as a result of attachment problems she had from infancy. It's a tale about finding meaning in the most difficult of circumstances to enable the surviving parent go on.

My Father Before Me

by Chris Forhan

When Chris Forhan, 14 years old, went to bed one night, his father walked to their garage and shot himself. Chris, at the age of 44, decides to investigate his father's decision and the feelings that went along with it. A family secret is revealed, and it turns out the guy who had come home in immaculate suits and freshly gelled hair had something in him that led to his death. There's more to this tale than just a family. Moreover, it tells the narrative of the United States at a certain point in history. As he depicts the idyllic American suburban landscape of the '70s, Forhan deftly captures the anxieties its residents had as they tried to maintain an idyllic existence.

The Noonday Demon

by Andrew Solomon

Andrew Solomon's National Book Award-winning, best-selling book of nonfiction, "Depression," takes a comprehensive study into the illness. Solomon sheds light on the therapies, science, and biology of depression by drawing on his own experience with depression, as well as interviews and an enormous amount of research. He discloses family secrets and sketches a map of what it's like to live with depression with a remarkable humor and sensitivity. Those who are afflicted with the condition will find this book reassuring and comforting. And it may be the one thing that gives one hope that they will finally overcome their despair…

History of a Suicide

by Jill Bialosky

During a quarrel with her boyfriend, Jill Bialosky's sister committed herself in 1990 at the age of 21. Jill still has a lot of unresolved issues twenty years later. For her own elucidation, Bialosky recreates her sister's innermost thoughts and feelings in a breathtaking piece of art. So she's also building an overall picture of what suicide looks like and has meant in other families. She explores the lives of famous people including Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, and Wallace Stevens, all of whom struggled with depression and attempted suicide at some point. When you start with a seed, it grows into a full-blown investigation of what suicide implies on a global scale. It's a must-read for everyone who wants to survive.

Reasons to Stay Alive, 

by Matt Haig

Author Matt Haig demonstrates the trite but true saying, "there is a light at the end of the tunnel," via a series of dialogues with his younger self. Haig is one of the many that suffer from mental health issues. His memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, chronicles how he overcame his melancholy one day at a time, minute by minute. It's not a matter of curing his despair; rather, it's a matter of giving him reasons to stay and reasons to appreciate life even more.

The Recovery Letters: Addressed to People Experiencing Depression, 

by Olivia Sagan and James Withey

This anthology is a collection of letters from people who have struggled with depression and are now writing to others who are going through the same thing. While the "it gets better" adage is often used as a platitude, the authors of these poignant letters know firsthand how difficult it may be and want to reassure you that you are not alone.

The Gift of Second: Healing from the Impact of Suicide, 

by Brandy Lidbeck

There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing a loved one to suicide. Two-time suicidal loss survivor Brandy Lidbeck is the author of this book. She is a professional marriage and family counselor as well. The Gift of Second is a how-to guide for letting go of survivor's guilt, taking care of oneself, and coping with the aftermath and the year that follows.

No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One, 

by Carla Fine

Despite an increase in the number of people openly discussing mental health issues in recent years, it is still very difficult for many people to bring up the subject of suicide. After her husband committed suicide in 1989, Carla Fine learned this. To deal with sentiments like rage, remorse, and perplexity was made much more difficult by her inability to openly express them. She wrote No Time to Say Goodbye as a way to pass on what she had learnt to fellow survivors.

Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-comic Memoir,

by Adam Cayton-Holland

When Adam Cayton-sister Holland's committed suicide during the beginning of Adam's comedy career, he decided that the best way to cope with it was to combine humor with sadness in a unique way.

Many find the junction between dark humor and tragedy difficult to traverse, but Cayton-Holland manages to find laughter, pleasure, and, in some cases wrath in the face of sadness. Grief, loss, and the gray areas in between are all key themes in Tragedy Plus Time.

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