Ripples of Suicide: Reasons for Living

But, given the fact that the subject matter is a downer, it's a remarkably entertaining read. Mr. Elliott's knowledge of his subject matter is both deep and wide, and correctly lays much of the blame for the problem of youthful suicides where it clearly belongs: At the feet of those who romanticize this most dreadful, dismal and damaging of all human acts; the so-called Romantic Poets, and, compellingly, the funeral industry, which since the Civil War has presented a G-rated version of the results of young people buying into these cockamamie fantasies of "noble misunderstood suffering poetic-types." Mr. Elliott forcefully argues that the best cure is a dose of reality, while providing examples of the real impact on surviving friends and family members.