ABSTRACT
Although, theoretically at least, Dr. Max Malikow, a psychotherapist specializing
in the treatment of depression and suicide, does have an answer to the ‘‘why.’’ He
states ‘‘suicide is an act driven by rage (not anger), aloneness (not loneliness), and despair
(not depression)’’ (1999, p. 44). Determining which of these is the key influence of a
given suicide, though, is difficult to assess because everything about death from
suicide is far more complex than death by another means, a fact reflected in the
words of Kay Redfield Jamison:
‘‘Suicide is a death like no other, and those who are left behind to struggle with it
must confront a pain like no other ... they are left to the silence of others, who are
horrified, embarrassed, or unable to cobble together a note of condolence, an
embrace, or a comment ...’’
