Every Seventeen Minutes In America, Someone Commits

Look To The Living, Love Them, And Hold On.

I, Quite Literally, Woke Up From A Coma, From Having Tried To Kill Myself And It Was Very Clear To Me What My Psychiatrist Had Been Saying For Years. The Choice Is Not Between A Drug That Has Side Effects Or Not, Life Is Not Ideal. Yes, Your Drug Has Side Effects And Yes If You Don't Take It You're Going To Die.

The Chinese Believe That Before You Can Conquer A Beast You First Must Make It Beautiful. In Some Strange Way, I Have Tried To Do That With Manic-depressive Illness. It Has Been A Fascinating, Albeit Deadly, Enemy And Companion; I Have Found It To Be Seductively Complicated, A Distillation Both Of What Is Finest In Our Natures, And Of What Is Most Dangerous.

Every Seventeen Minutes In America, Someone Commits Suicide. Mostly, I Have Been Impressed By How Little Value Our Society Puts On Saving The Lives Of Those Who Are In Such Despair As To Want To End Them. It Is A Societal Illusion That Suicide Is Rare. It Is Not.

Suicide Note: The Calm, Cool Face Of The River Asked Me For A Kiss. -langston Hughes