How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me, Revised Edition

NOW WITH A NEW CHAPTER AND AN UPDATED RESOURCES SECTION

Suicide has touched the lives of nearly half of all Americans, yet it is rarely talked about openly. In her highly acclaimed book, Susan Blauner—a survivor of multiple suicide attempts—offers guidance and hope for those contemplating ending their lives and for their loved ones.

“Each word written with thoughtful intent; each story told with the deepest of honesty and humility, and in doing so Blauner puts forward a life-saving book."—Daniel J. Reidenberg, PsyD, Executive Director, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (www.save.org)

“I continued to romanticize my death by suicide: who would find me; what I’d look like. I spent hundreds of hours planning my funeral, imagining the remorse of my family and friends. I wrote good-bye letters, composed wills, and disrupted the lives of everyone close to me. Then reality hit.”—Susan Rose Blauner

The statistics on suicide are staggering. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 800,000 people die by suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds, and for each completed suicide there may be twenty or more attempts.

In How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me, Susan Blauner is the perfect emissary for a message of hope and a program of action for these millions of people. A survivor of multiple suicide attempts, she explains the complex feelings and fantasies that surround suicidal thoughts. In a direct, nonjudgmental, and loving voice, she offers affirmations and suggestions for those experiencing life-ending thoughts, and for their friends and family.

With an introduction by Bernie Siegel, M.D., this important, timely book has now been updated with a revised resources section, and a new chapter on the author’s experiences since the book’s initial publication.

Susan Rose Blauner, MSW, LCSW, is a writer, motivational speaker, artist, singer, and educator who changes the way people think about suicidal thoughts, suicidal behavior and mental disease. She is the 2002 recipient of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Survivor of the Year Award for Distinguished Creativity in Suicide Prevention and transformed eighteen years of suicidal ideation, three suicide gestures, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and decades of therapy into the life-saving resource, How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me: One Person’s Guide to Suicide Prevention. Susan presents motivational keynotes and seminars throughout the United States designed to destigmatize mental illness; enlighten practitioners, educators, first responders and military personnel; and empower individuals and families affected by mental illness and suicide. She has appeared on Good Morning America, American Family, and in the documentary A Secret Best Not Kept. Following a 2008 breast cancer diagnosis, two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, Susan went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College in 2015, at the age of 50. She now lives in New England with her dog, Fiona, and continues to find ways to enhance her enjoyment of life. For more information, visit www.susanblauner.com.

“The best suicide prevention manual for the suicidal thinker, suicide attempter, layperson, or professional.” — Iris Bolton, founder of the National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare

“Each word written with thoughtful intent; each story told with the deepest of honesty and humility, and in doing so Blauner puts forward a life-saving book.” — Daniel J. Reidenberg, PsyD, Executive Director, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (www.save.org)

“With neither hollow platitudes nor medical doublespeak… Blauner provides an extremely valuable and much-needed tool for both suicidal thinkers and their loved ones.” — Publishers Weekly

“A beacon of hope for the suicidal thinker as well as family members and friends. Susan Rose Blauner’s writing shinese with honesty and hope, compassion and courage. I am convinced that if my sister had read this book, our family history would have been changed.” — Anne D. LeClaire, author of Entering Normal

“In her heartfelt and important book, Blauner … offers guidance and hope for those contemplating ending their lives.” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Like a Fodor’s Guide that gets you from the depths of the hell of depression to the paradise of balanced life.” — Reese Butler, Program Manager, National Hopeline Network

“How I Stayed Alive is vulnerable and resilient, deeply personal and profoundly practical. In its revised edition, this book will continue to be an important resource for those suffering from suicidal ideation and mental illness, and to provide insight and hope for their loved ones.” — Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. Representative and founder of The Kennedy Forum

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