<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I found this book while reading Solomon's "Noonday Demon." Both books are superb, with this book having more of a specifc focus on suicide."Noonday Demon" expressly addresses depression, and suicide in that context. This book is broader, and is a very careful, and helpful discussion of the factors that bring a person to suicide. Ms. Jamison does a beautiful job of not only laying out the statistics and studies of suicide, but also threading in the story of her own depression, her own suicide attempt. If you are reading this review, or reading about this book--then you need to get it. You need some help, and this book will give it to you. In addition to this book, I also recommend Alvarez's "The Savage God: A study of suicide."
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written book.
Review: I have decided I love this author. Kay Jamison writes with such intense knowledge and grasp of her subject that the reader is transposed into her world. Dr. Jamison is an expert in her field of depression and manic depressive illnesses. She is also an expert on suicide, which this book is about. It is a profound and deeply moving book that addresses an ever increasing problem in our society. Dr. Jamison leads us on a disturbing journey through the suicidal mind, and brings us back again, a bit wiser, more enlightened, and hauntingly contemplative on this desperate subject. She does this with much compassion as well, which endears the reader to the subject from the start, and she offers hope to those unfortunate individuals who suffer a pain and agony in life that, hopefully, most of us will never know.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book; Slightly bloated
Review: It is obvious that the author has a very good, active mind (as she has told us in a book that described her experience with manic depression).
The good points: Extensive reading went into writing this book, and it shows. Most people don't think about the social perception of suicide over 10 years ago, let alone 1,000 years ago. But Jamison has done this and done it well. She also captures the feelings of despair and pointlessness that go along with suicide.
Toward the end of the book there is too much speculation/ philosophizing and not enough concrete evidence. It is as if she is trying to generalize on experiences that she may have had but without giving us the specific details.
All in all, she could have done the same thing with about 50 pages less worth of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but incomplete and a little self-seving
Review: kay redfield jamison is an interesting writer, in fact i think that even if she wasn't a doctor she would be probably be famous, but that just isn't enough when you're looking for something objective and clinical. she puts anne sexton, graham greene, and a few statistics (and generic 'suicidal intent' diagrams throughout the book--you can find these on any webpage) together along with some fascinating and morbid stories of really bizarre suicides (a guy burning himself to death on a bed of straw and getting up and documenting it periodically to prove that suicides aren't cowards. wow.) her personal story of attempted suicide is all too easy; she swallowed lithium in a moment of despair, called someone for help and within three weeks was in church 'realizing that god did not mean for her to die'. nothing really coheres, and one gets the sense of a sort of collage of poetic sentiments about the irrevocably lost and genuine pity with some pseudo clinical information thrown in. jamison needs to draw a firm line between her creative work and her scientific work. depressing, sad, interesting and mostly useless. read it as a novelty if you're feeling morbid.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Complete Book I've Ever Read On Suicide
Review: Night Falls Fast is impossible to fairly review with the 1000 word limit here on Amazon.com. With this limitation though, I'll try and sum up the understanding one gains in reading this disturbing book. Kay Redfield's thesis is depressingly convincing and accurate: "The causes of suicide lie, for the most part, in an individual's predisposing temperament and genetic vulnerabilities; in severe psychiatric illness; and in acute psychological stress." As sad as her statement is, Kay backs up this notion with personal experience as a bipolar patient, suicide survivor, and psychiatry professor. Not to mention 95 pages of research notes taking up almost a third of the book. She begins with endless and boring statistics regarding suicide; albeit objective, enlightening, and saddening. But the book soon picks up in intensity with the tragic suicide story of Drew Sopirak and his dashed Air Force dreams, thanks to manic depression. For history buffs, an objective essay on the controversial death of Meriwether Lewis is offered as well. In addition to other tragic narratives, Redfield explains the science behind suicide. She delves deeply into the neurotransmitter serotonin, the drugs that have been developed to help regulate mood - especially Lithium, and the genetic factors that often lead to these nasty mood disorders. Finally, she writes on a more hopeful theme: prevention. Her opinions on prevention are depressing, given the uncontrollable variables that cause suicide. Despite this, she still conveys the possibility that many lives can be saved. In addition to the usefulness of psychiatric drugs, she persuasively writes of the need for a combo of medicine and psychotherapy for the patient (rather than just one or the other), family awareness and cooperation, as well as a more open-minded society regarding mental illness. The final chapter is dedicated to those left behind. With insight from her own experience, poetry, and personal narratives, she portrays the anguish, questions, and shame those left behind are forced to deal with. Like most people, I always considered the act of suicide to be the result of extreme personal circumstances: a lifetime of rejection, endless professional failure, years of horrific abuse, etc. But Kay Redfield shatters that myth, proving that the majority of life's survivors do not commit suicide, while very successful people may commit suicide in an instant - thanks to unfortunate heredity, mental illness, and drug abuse. With these three "hits" in place, without help on many levels - medical, psychological, and social - suicide is highly likely. Kay Redfield Jamison is a courageous leader in the field of mental health. She lifts the ignorance, shame, and silence surrounding suicide. And she writes to the public in a chillingly honest, direct, and compassionate manner. Read this book today - and get the real truth.
Rating:
Summary: Night Falls Fast
Review: Night Falls Fast was a very helpful book for me. It included stories of other people along with her own story and many helpful statistics/facts. As a person who has personally dealt with suicide before, I enjoyed this book. It helped me to deal with some personal issues and understand better what I was going through and what I could about it. I also learned that I had to do something about it, or I was going to end up dead more likely than not. I would recommend this book to anyone who has felt suicidal or knows/thinks they know, anyone that is.
Rating:
Summary: Scarey
Review: The book has an exotic name and is very informative on the topic of suicide. But it is a frightening book. I will definitly remember this book for the rest of my life and I get enormous amount of anxiety when I just think about it. I don't recommend this book to anybody because it is like a long research paper(not dry though) but it is not a self-help book. I guess for the general population this book can be very confusing.
Rating:
Summary: Fathoming the unfathomable
Review: This book provides a simple yet informative explanations of why, how, where, and when, a too large percentage of people take or have taken, their own lives. It is suitable for professionals and those of you who find suicide invades your private life for any reason, or if you are curious and enjoy understanding the wonder and extremes of your species.
Suicide is a topic that touches many peoples' lives. With depression and other disorders that carry with them a risk of suicide being so common, books like this are needed, to help those ill, and the people that love them. This book covers unsavoury topics, but it has to do so. Dr Jamison skilfully steers clear of gratuitous gore, avoids prescribing suicide methods that will work, and yet remains honest about the horrors of suicide.
Whilst bearing in mind that this book can be upsetting if you are ill or still raw from losing someone, I would recommend it as a book to help, understand, and accept. It is always helpful to learn you are not alone in your pain.
On a personal note, this book helped me when suicidal and depressed. Despite the dark tone of the book, it gave me hope. It did not always stop me doing stupid or dangerous things (!) but I often made it impossible for me to forget those people I would have left behind. For me, it was a protective book, carried everywhere, as a sign I was not alone.
A book not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Night Can Fall Fast
Review: This was a wonderfully informative book to help people with mental illness and their families understand what is going on in the mind. It was very helpful to read when not depressed, but I question the safety of reading it if someone is seriously contemplating suicide. This book leaves nothing to the imagination of exactly how to kill yourself. It is very descriptive. It could not have been written by anyone who had not actually walked the halls of depression. I found it interesting that this person (Kay Readfield Jamison) was and is a mental health professional. I also find it interesting that she made a pact of no self harm with another professional and he was not able to keep that contract. She definately writes from the heart and did some pretty hair-raising research for this book.
<< 1 >>
| 
