Review of Myths About Suicide by Thomas Joiner

Thomas Joiner's Myths about Suicide is a powerful and important book that aims to attack the stigma around suicide, to 'expose myths' and 'shatter misunderstandings' (10). In it he continues on from his first (Why People Die By Suicide, 2005) but writes with clearer expression and less unnecessary repetition, making for a stronger book and one that better succeeds in its aims.

He divides his book into three main sections after an introduction: 'The Suicidal Mind', 'Suicidal Behavior', and 'Causes, Consequences, and Subpopulations'. There are eighteen myths he deals with throughout these chapters, with discussions of other misunderstood issues included (for example, 'slow suicide', genetics, hospitalization).

As in his first book, he emphasizes the factors that must be present for a person to consider suicide. These are perceived burdensomeness (so the person believes they would benefit others more by being dead than alive), sense of low belongingness (alienation from their community), and loss of the fear of pain and death (such as by habituation to pain, hard circumstances and dangerous situations). He applies these factors to examples of cases, making them clear and understandable.

Review continued at Metapsychology Online Reviews.