Reddit reviews Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It

Recently I read the book”Stay” by Jennifer Michael Hecht, an examination of suicide from the perspective of philosophers and writers from ancient times until now. I found it comforting and illuminating and I recommend it to clinicians and lay people alike. Suicide is far more common than I thought. More people die from their own hand than by war and homicide combined. Hecht argues that we are not the same people we were years ago and we are not going to be the same in the future as we are now. We owe it to that future self to stay and wait for help, wait for change. Your efforts to help are never wasted because even though they may not have the results you intended, they change the world in unforeseen ways and they bring you into contact with others like yourself, people who are dedicated to helping others hold on.
https://www.amazon.com/Stay-History-Suicide-Philosophies-Against/dp/0300186088

Yo. I'm just gonna throw this at you. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Stay-History-Suicide-Philosophies-Against/dp/0300186088

Related interview on Minnesota Public Radio:

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/05/28/daily-circuit-suicide-stay

Firstly, if this isn't just a philosophical question, please seek help. 1-800-273-8255 Suicide Hotline.

Secondly, Stay by Jennifer Michael Hetcht does a fair job looking at various philsophical responses to the problem of suicide.

You may find this new book of mine helpful. It addresses many of the issues raised here. http://www.amazon.com/Stay-History-Suicide-Philosophies-Against/dp/0300186088/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381454577&sr=1-1&keywords=Stay+hecht

I agree that people should be allowed to kill themselves. I like hearing all arguments about things, and it sounds like you do too. I just read a book called Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It. The first part of that book is extremely boring because it talks about while suicide appears in history and in the bible, but if you start around chapter 5, you might find it interesting. I don't really agree with the author's reasons, but I'm glad I read it.

One argument I remember hearing about was from the book Stay, which not only traces a lot of different philosophical responses to suicide, but the author posits her own argument based on the communal nature of people. She argues that since the best predictor of a suicide is knowing someone who committed suicide, so by choosing to abstain from suicide, you are not only preserving your life, but you're helping others stay as well. She was featured in the On Being podcast, which gave an interesting overview of her ideas.