NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is about to start. I did participate in this one year, and did get over 50 000 words written, much to my utter surprise. That draft novel sits somewhere on my computer, and somewhere in print form, along with a lot of other stories that never again see daylight. However, it was a good 'practice' novel draft, and writing it so quickly helped me see how difficult it is to develop characters and plot in a meaningful and interesting way. I don't really think I have a (publishable) novel in me, but it was a worthwhile exercise.

I don't want to do it this year, because I actually want to write a 10 000 word essay instead. NaEssWriMo?

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.

Review of Becoming A Doctor edited by Lee Gutkind

There is a theme through these nineteen pieces by doctors and one psychologist, that of remembering the humanity of both doctors and patients. Medical students are often taught that they should keep emotionally distant from their patients, that it will help with their treatment of them, and also with their own self-preservation. But to carry this to the extreme, or to carry it to every single patient regardless of the circumstances, is that appropriate? Or even possible? What sort of person could not get involved, to some degree, with a dying patient they have cared for?

Review continued at Metapsychology Online Reviews.