Authoritative, accessible, personal, profound—there’s never been a book on suicide like this. It will help you understand yourself and your loved ones, and it will change the way you think about this most vexing of human problems.
Published in the UK as A Very Human Ending: How Suicide Haunts Our Species.
For much of his thirties, Jesse Bering thought he was probably going to kill himself. He was a successful psychologist and writer, with books to his name and bylines in major magazines. But none of that mattered. The impulse to take his own life remained. At times it felt all but inescapable.
Bering survived. And in addition to relief, the fading of his suicidal thoughts brought curiosity. Where had they come from? Would they return? Is the suicidal impulse found in other animals? Or is our vulnerability to suicide a uniquely human evolutionary development? In Suicidal, Bering answers all these questions and more, taking us through the science and psychology of suicide, revealing its cognitive secrets and the subtle tricks our minds play on us when we’re easy emotional prey. Scientific studies, personal stories, and remarkable cross-species comparisons come together to help readers critically analyze their own doomsday thoughts while gaining broad insight into a problem that, tragically, will most likely touch all of us at some point in our lives. But while the subject is certainly a heavy one, Bering’s touch is light. Having been through this himself, he knows that sometimes the most effective response to our darkest moments is a gentle humor, one that, while not denying the seriousness of suffering, at the same time acknowledges our complicated, flawed, and yet precious existence.
Authoritative, accessible, personal, profound—there’s never been a book on suicide like this. It will help you understand yourself and your loved ones, and it will change the way you think about this most vexing of human problems.
University of Chicago Press
November 5, 2018
9780226463322
6.0 × 9.0 in / 272 pages
"A necessary contribution to the demystification of a subject still underdiscussed, Bering’s book is wise, warm, and sure to encourage conversation.“
The Irish Times
“Bering's book is filled with the fascinating detail one would expect of a great researcher, one who has been there and almost done…. that …. and also someone who can write in an entertaining and engaging way. It is a book for everyone, and sad enough given the target matter, but also informative without being cold, distant, boring, crammed. He gets across a tremendous amount of detail and anecdote, and makes this worthy of being a bestseller.”
Metapsychology Online Reviews
"For such a fiercely complex subject with varying nuances, viewpoints, and interpretations, Bering imparts accessible information through an affable, conversational tone . . . illuminates a murky, misunderstood human quandary with compassion, confessional honesty, and academic perception.”
Kirkus Reviews
"By the time you finish reading these sentences someone in the world will have committed suicide. Why do more than a million people a year kill themselves? To answer this question we need a brilliant research scientist, an insightful psychologist, and a sensitive but powerful writer who has seriously contemplated taking their own life. Jesse Bering fits all three criteria and the book you hold in your hands is a deeply moving narrative that cuts to the heart of the ultimate question any of us could ever ask: why should I live? Given what’s at stake in the topic, Suicidal may very well be the most important book you will ever read.”
Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic Magazine
“Jesse Bering is the best science writer at work today."
Dan Savage
“Bering has created an empathetic and moving odyssey into a universe of cognition in which the embrace of death is a welcome friend rather than a looming chasm … A fascinating scientific journey.”
The Catholic Herald
If you’d like to follow along with Jesse’s writings – he finally has a new book in development! – just add your email address below.
Jesse is Head of the Department of Science Communication at the University of Otago.
