suicide
Training faith leaders to work against suicide
“Suicide happens because of loss of hope and loss of social connection,” says Michelle Snyder of Soul Shop. “What if we became a church where no one loses hope and no one is alone?”
Writing through grief
In her new memoir, Miriam Toews explores connections between suicide, silence, and writing.
After my friend’s suicide, my theology was in shock
I’ve been offering my tangled knots of questions and memories as prayers.
Liz Tichenor’s life in the wake of her infant’s death
We are called to accompany the bodies we love from birth to death and beyond.
Grieving my daughter’s suicide in a time of wider grief
My years of experience as an undertaker didn’t make it easier.
How deaths of despair reached white communities
Two economists tell the story and suggest reforms.
Suicides in the US are rising. How can the church respond?
Helping people feel connected to one another is the holy work of any community, including congregations.
A liturgy for people affected by suicide
One person told me, “It’s the first time I’ve been in a church for 30 years, since that day.”
A pastor's job isn't to make bad things seem better
If you have to choose between offering false hope and the truth, go with the truth.
Breaking the silence about suicide
“When the church couldn’t talk about suicide or mental illness, it felt like God couldn’t either.”
Pastors need to see 13 Reasons Why
The Netflix series is troubling and difficult to watch. Watch it anyway.
Road: Essays by readers
In response to our request for essays on the subject road, we received many compelling reflections. Here is a selection.
All My Puny Sorrows, by Miriam Toews
This is a book about deep, protracted, unrelenting sadness, and it knows it.
Stay, by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Most moral arguments against suicide are built on premises of faith. But Jennifer Hecht, a poet and first-rate historian of ideas, is intent on providing secular reasons for refraining from it.