A mother reveres her gay son. She's in awe of his achievements. Patrick Wood is a valedictorian, an AP Scholar, and a National Merit Scholarship winner with perfect SAT scores. A year after he graduates from Stanford with honors, she struggles to understand his death.
Marie Lisette Rimer searches for answers through Patrick's life, Berlin's gay scene, Stanford psychiatrists, and her mother's suicide. She draws from research, memoirs, and her own awakening to confront the painful question of why suicide. She finds answers through therapy and the science of depression. She exposes the forces behind sadness, perfectionism, identity, and isolation. She weaves guilt and grief with evidence and understanding. Back from Suicide is a story of what comes next, how we find purpose in pain after death.
Back from Suicide reveals the suicidal mind through the misery of depression and the difficulty of coming out. It's the enigma of self-destruction after a lifetime of success. It is a mother's pursuit of the biggest question of humankind. Why do people kill themselves?
