Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Suicide. Edited by Paul Connors. Detroit, Mich.: Greenhaven Press Thomson Gale, 2007. 1 vol. 236 p. $34.95. ISBN 10: 0-7377-2488-9; ISBN 13: 978-0-7377-2488-2.

Suicide bombings are reported almost daily in our newspapers and on our television news programs, making this topic ever present. Even though we look at the Columbine event as something happening to someone else, most of us know of a family where suicide occurred with someone still in high school or where the occurrence of a suicide affected friends of the victim for a long time after. While counselors at the time offer some relief from the grief, activities stopped (one friend’s child quit the football team), grades often dropped, and other actions changed radically. While terrible loss occurs with an accidental death, suicide seems to carry a greater impact because of the feeling of helplessness for those who wished they could have prevented the action. One statistic quoted in the Introduction is that in 2003, 3,988 young people between 15 and 24 committed suicide. This was three times the number in 1952. This book covers “Is Suicide Immoral?” “What Are the Causes of Suicide?” “Should Physicians Help Terminally Ill Patients Commit Suicide?” and “How Can Suicide Be Prevented?” This is a topic that needs to be brought before students and discussed.