Everyone feels lonely, depressed, despairing sometimes. What causes people--especially teens--to make that final, irreversible choice? Why is suicide the 3rd leading cause of death among youth, ages 15-24? What can we do to help each other make different choices? Check out these sample resources for a place to start.

For Teens: WEBSITES - NON-FICTION - FICTION
For Parents: WEBSITES

WEBSITES

Fact Sheet on Suicide
http://nahic.ucsf.edu/downloads/Suicide.pdf
Statistics about the incidence of youth suicide in the U.S. From the National Adolescent Health Information Center.

Oregon Youth Suicide Prevention
http://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/ipe/suicide.cfm
The Oregon Department of Human Services page, with information & statistics about youth suicide in Oregon.

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
http://www.save.org/
to prevent suicide through public awareness and education, eliminate stigma and serve as a resource to those touched by suicide. Includes facts, information & resources.

Suicide: Fact Sheet
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/Suicide/default.htm
Facts about suicide, with links to additional information. From the CDC.

Suicide Prevention Action Network
http://www.spanusa.org/
Raising awareness about and helping prevent suicide in America.

Survivors of Suicide
http://www.survivorsofsuicide.com/index.html
Designed to help those who have lost a loved one to suicide resolve their grief and pain in their own personal way. Includes information, resources & more.

Teen Suicide & Youth Suicide
http://www.suicide.org/teen-suicide-and-youth-suicide.html
Information, links & resources from an individual who is passionate about reducing the incidence of suicide.

Youth Suicide Fact Sheet
http://www.suicidology.org/associations/1045/files/
YouthSuicide.pdf
Facts & statistics from the American Association of Suicidology.

Back 2 Top

NON-FICTION

Suicide: Opposing Viewpoints
(362.28 SUI)
Explores issues of suicide, including whether or not suicide is ever acceptable and causes of teen suicide.

Suicide
by Adam Woog (362.28 WOO)
Why do people commit suicide? -- Teen suicide -- Is suicide ever an acceptable solution? -- After a suicide -- Preventing suicide.

Suicide: Tragic Choice
by Karen Zeinert (362.28 ZEI)
Surveys the issue of suicide, including its history, causes, and psychology.

Teens and Suicide
by Hal Marcovitz (362.280 MAR 2004)
Using data from the Gallup Youth Survey and other sources, examines the issue of teenage suicide.

The Power to Prevent Suicide: A Guide for Teens Helping Teens
by Richard Nelson & Judith Galas (362.287 NEL)
What do you do when your friend is talking about committing suicide? This guide can help.

Coping with Teen Suicide
by James Murphy, MD (362.88 MUR)
Explains the causes and consequences of suicide and suggests ways of dealing with problems, preventing suicide, and coping with the suicide of a loved one.

After the Death of Anna Gonzales
by Terri Fields (811.541 FIE)
Poems written in the voices of forty-seven people, including students, teachers, and other school staff, record the aftermath of a high school student's suicide and the preoccupations of teen life.

Back 2 Top

FICTION

Pitch Black: Color Me Lost
by Melody Carlson (YA CARLSON)
Why has Morgan made a suicide pact? Will she go through with it?

Chinese Handcuffs
by Chris Crutcher (YA CRUTCHER)
Still troubled by his older brother's violent suicide, eighteen-year-old Dillon becomes deeply involved in the terrible secret of his friend Jennifer, who feels she can tell no one what her stepfather is doing to her.

High Heat
by Carl Deuker (YA DEUKER)
One mistake means Shane's life of privilege is stripped away. Now he's trying to get his life together, but just like in baseball--anything can happen on a given night.

Split Image
by Mel Glenn (YA GLENN)
People either love Laura Li, or hate her. Most people think she’s perfect. No one knows about her secret life, or the lengths she will go to to escape herself.

Fat Kid Rules the World
by K.A. Going (YA GOING)
Curt saves Troy's life, so Troy has to be in Curt's band. But: Troy can't play the drums. And his father thinks Curt's a drug addict. And his brother thinks Troy's a loser. But with Curt, anything is possible.

Keeper of the Night
by Kimberly Willis Holt (YA HOLT)
When Isabel’s mother commits suicide, Isabel must become “mother” to her whole family, just as she’s wanting more independence.

Alone at Ninety Foot
by Katherine Holubitsky (YA HOLUBITSKY)
“All these things I’ve been finding disappeared with Mom.”

Damage
by A.M. Jenkins (YA JENKINS)
"What you really want to do is give up trying. Lay your head down...& quit breathing, quit trying. The problem is, you can't."

Drowning Anna
by Sue Mayfield (YA MAYFIELD)
What do you do when the only choices you can see are to endure the unendurable or to die?

Aimee
by Mary Beth Miller (YA MILLER)
Did Zoe help her best friend commit suicide?

Shizuko's Daughter
by Kyoko Mori (YA MORI)
Thanks to her mother’s suicide, Yuki has to learn how to live with a father who doesn't seem to love her and a stepmother who treats her badly.

Under the Wolf, Under the Dog
by Adam Rapp (YA RAPP)
Steve's life has been anything but uneventful for the past year, and coming to terms with so many life-altering experiences has left him a wreck. Can he survive everything life is throwing his way?

Like the Red Panda
by Andrea Seigel (YA SEIGEL)
Stella is an observant, clever high school senior, finishing up her spring term, and slated to enter Princeton University in the fall. But Stella may never get there -- because she's preparing to end her life.

Back 2 Top

WEBSITES for Parents

Understanding & Preventing Teen Suicide
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html
Learn about teen suicide, what to look for, how to help prevent it, and how to cope.

Back 2 Top

Back to Hot Topics