The Suicide Index: Putting My Father's Death in Order

The book came in plastic wrapping and looked brand new (as described). I was very pleased with everything from packaging, shipping, and arrival without any bends or gauges.

Suicide. Wrapped in mystery, tragedy, and deep loss. And inexplicable. Thank you for putting your father’s death in order. It has encouraged me to now do what you have achieved in such a profound way - to honor my father’s choice in spite of so many questions after 50 years.

This so explains a survivor’s pain, but also the pain of the person who was lost. I could feel them both.

I'm not sure I have ever read a book so nearly unrelievedly grim as The Suicide Index. While there are flashes of humor here and there - of the gallows variety - the tone of this memoir is, for the most part, pretty sobering, sad and, most of all, I think, angry. The anger is directed at, in nearly equal parts, the author's father, who did the ghastly deed, and her mother, who may well have been at least partly responsible for her husband's poor career decisions, most certainly for their hopeless financial plight, and probably for his obvious feelings of inadequacy and despair. In any case, I can understand why the book was a finalist for the National Book Award. The writing is beautiful and conveys in both heartbreakingly personal and coldly objective terms the ever-widening ripples and repercussions of this oh-so desperate and final act. In that respect, it is an admirably professional piece of work. Even so, this book-long meditaion of self-murder could hardly be called a pleasant read, and not a book I could heartily recommend. It was, in my experience, one excruciatingly long wince. I can't even begin to imagine how painful it must have been for Wickersham to write it. Cathartic, I'm sure, but it also had to hurt like hell. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

Writing a memoir is the most difficult type of writing. It requires that we relive even the most painful parts of our lives. No one wants to read a list of successes. The hard times and feelings must be laid bare. This author does a presentable job with facts. It must have been difficult to write about her father’s suicide, but she does so with great honesty. She shares the family’s reaction. She shares the reactions and experiences of friends. There are some very well-written parts of the book. But often the point of view changes. When she writes from the ”you” POV, but means the “I” POV, the result is often disturbing. Sometimes chapters or parts of chapters are written in third person. The result is confusing. There’s a chapter called “Suicide, Psychiatry as an Indirect Means of Addressing” where I, the reader, was lost. Who was she addressing? Her psychiatrist? Her psychiatrist’s son? I kept restarting the chapter thinking I had missed something. Other times she is addressing her father. Sometimes she spends too much time on unrelated stories, like listing her mothers possessions. The biography of her father and grandparents is too long. And we readers still end up knowing very little about these people other than that the grandparents were dancers. Yet there are many parts of the memoir that are well-written and that deserve attention.

Dear Joan,Your book, The Suicide Index is nothing short of riveting. Written with such HEART and such BEAUTY and maybe mostly—COURAGE. Alas, I am your new number one fan.I have yet to read a book that reaches where yours does to find out/seek/dig at the truth, meaning, and repercussions of suicide. There isn’t a stone unturned in your three-hundred some pages, not a consequence unrealized or unrecognized. I see you telling the story your father could not. I see you giving his suicide ultimate voice.Mental health continues to have such stigma, and that’s another reason your book touched me so deeply. Thank you for unabashedly shedding an artistic light on such a deeply personal issue.You are so truly gifted, and I am planning to reread your book sooner than later to study the structure and narrative arc more deeply.Sincerely,Robyn

Bought this for my fiancee who was dealing with the suicide of her father. I can't remember her exact thoughts about this book when she first read it, but I know it was at least comforting in way to know that other people have been in the same situation. I would recommend buying this book for anyone who is freaking with this type of loss.

Joan Wickersham experienced one of the most dreadful events that one could experience - the suicide of her father. The book, The Suicide Index, is her attempt to explore the events, thoughts, and feelings surrounding this catastrophic event in her life. I wasn't certain, in the beginning, if I would like this work with such a morbid theme. But, Wickersham wrote in a style that was both creative yet one in which the reader could relate. I pulled for her throughout and my empathy for her grew with each turn of the page. There are few books that I've read which I would claim that the author is a creative genius, but, this is clearly one of those books. I very highly recommend reading this book to anyone contemplating suicide, directly affected by suicide, or those who work with these individuals. I give this an A+!!!

Surprisingly humorous at times, this book is beautifully written and gripping to the last word. A difficult but lovely read.

Working with relatives of suicides, this was an eye opening account which covered years of grief and searching for that which can never be found.

This book managed to be honest without being morbid. I lost my father in similar circumstances and it was a great help to read it.