I have a psych degree, so I was really interested in reading this book at first. However, the book just fell flat for me and left little to be desired. It was very repetitive, and jumped around a lot during the story. Obviously depression and suicide is tough to talk about, so kudos to the author for being able to open up about mental issues.

This was heavy, but also less so because so much of it was a memoir of his life. It was Interesting, but not what I expected.

I found this book to be very repetitive and slow moving. I was interested in hearing the author’s history of depression and suicidal ideation along with failed attempts. I found it interesting in the beginning, but the author goes into too much detail at times and returns to the same experiences. It was interesting hearing his experiences one time, but could have done without the repetition. I did find the psychological and medical aspects of this nonfiction book, but found the lengthy quotes and his paraphrasing of the excerpts to be once again dry and repetitive. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it was edited/ trimmed to remove the repetition and his lengthy interpretations of the excerpts he already provided the reader with. I became less interested in reading the book about halfway through and found myself skimming sections. An interesting premise for a nonfiction book, but poorly written/ edited. I lost interest about two thirds of the way through and skimmed the rest of the book,

Wow, this book is a heavy topic (which I knew going into it) but I feel like it should come with a warning to not read if you are actively thinking about suicide. It is a powerful memoir and I appreciate the author sharing his experiences. It is a difficult topic but an important read for those with mental health issues. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

This book is a must read for anyone who is suffering from contemplating suicide. I think all libraries should have this title available for patrons to check out.

I want to start off by saying I feel this book is very triggering and would best be read from the other side of a crisis, not when a person is actively suicidal.

This is a very difficult book to read and not what I was expecting. It reads more like a memoir, rather than a self help type book. It was difficult not just because of the heavy subject matter, but also because it felt very disjointed. Perhaps some more editing would have made this book more successful, for me at least.

I appreciate the honesty and openness of the author and I can see how this could be a therapeutic read for many.

First - I think you need to be the right person, in the right frame of mind, to read this book. Martin does begin with a warning much along those lines, with resources for people who are NOT in the right frame of mind to read a frank book about suicide and suicidal ideation. Still, the whole volume is a trigger warning brought to life, but that should be obvious from the subject manner.

As for the book itself, it's a bit of an odd mix between academia, theory and philosophy and profoundly personal writing about deeply personal situations. It's a bit of a whiplash going back and forth between the two, but somehow it works – the theory backs the personal, and the personal informs the theory.

Not a book for everyone, but for those for whom it fits, it's a fascinating dive.

How not to kill yourself? It's absolutely a good question, especially when you are struggling with depression. When hopelessness becomes too much, this is where most of the depressed individuals will go. They will consider their place in this world and what could give them flicker of hope to hold on to it.

This book is Clancy Martin's internal fight to not to lose that hope even though he tried to cross that bridge several times. I liked that he found courage to write about his experiences knowing that his children would read these pages and hear his not so comforting thoughts.

I thought it would be more of a self-help book, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it's more of a memoir. It's like that saying, there are many ways to be unhappy. This is another way to see that there are many ways to cope with depression. I hope all will some level of hope not to let everything go.

Dear How Not to Kill Yourself,
You were such an interesting book for me. I have battled with mental health issues most of my life and have even contemplated suicide a time or two. Not only did you open my eyes to his struggle (and many other people's struggle too) but you also had some strong tips and techniques for dealing with my times of instability. I was surprised at how closely addiction and suicidal ideation are linked. Clyde's struggle with alcohol was almost painful to learn about, and his several relapse broke my heart. Before tky pick this book up, please be sure to listen to the trigger warning at the beginning of the book, and if you are feeling suicidal at all, take this book slowly. It can be triggering.

Here's the link to the review in the New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/clancy-martins-writerly-repetitions

This is a rather heavy book obviously due to the subject matter. I have been gradually working my way through but this isn’t easy to digest on large chunks. The author is honest, raw, and genuine and the book is definitely well written. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a drc.

The author, Clancy Martin talks about his ten suicide attempts in an intimate depiction of the mindset of someone obsessed with self-destruction. He argues that, for the vast majority of suicides, an attempt does not just come out of the blue, nor is it merely a violent reaction to a particular crisis or failure. This is an intimate, insightful, at times even humorous exploration of why the thought of death is so compulsive for some while demonstrating that there's always another solution. Sections on his murky descent into alcoholism dovetails with accounts of the author’s candid, heartfelt work toward making peace with life and pages of proactive “tools for crisis” for anyone considering suicide. It is a deeply felt and eye-opening book.

This one is a very tough read. I feel like I've been blessed to have never felt suicidal, but there are those I love who do struggle with it and I have lost friends to it so I wanted to know more about what drives it.
Martin is as open and honest about his experiences with it as he is with the wide research he's done into the topic. He makes it clear that it's not an easy life and it's not an easy read because of it. It's a series of sad examples with tiny glimpses of things working out, but the overall feeling it left me with is that it might just be inevitable. That is not exactly what the title promises, yet I feel compelled to give this book to those I know who struggle with suicidal tendencies because it does show that many others feel that way and that it's not as lonely as they may feel. There's a point in the book where Martin writes that it's easier to talk to others in the psychiatric ward because you know they won't judge you or make things worse for you, and that is one of the saddest truths I've ever read.
Overall, it's a very clear and eye-opening view into the suicidal mind that makes things a lot clearer for those of us lucky enough to not know what it's like and that I feel would give those with suicidal tendencies a mirror to reflect the fact that they are not alone in that harsh reality.

Incredibly grateful to NetGalley and Pantheon for the enlightening read!

This book is written by a philosophy professor who is addicted to the idea of killing himself. The first part of this book is his story at length and he comes across to me as very self-centered, almost narcissistic. The second part of the book including the appendixes is very good and proves he did a lot of research for this book. It was worth a read.

I’ve struggled with mental health all my life, same as the author. It was hard to read that his first suicide attempt was around 6 years old. It really gives you a different perspective around this topic. I never read self help books and don’t even know if this is considered a self help book, but it gave me hope.

The first half of the book I was really into it but, towards the end I found it very heavy and hard to read. I disliked how many facts and quotes were added into the book. These facts and quotes do give you a look into how different cultures and people view suicide.

Overall I think this book was well written. It gave me a different perceptive on suicide and mental health. I hope everyone who has contemplated suicide and is struggling gets help they deserve.

This book was intense and a lot to read. I can imagine that it would be somewhat unrelatable/hard to understand for those who have never felt what it was like to be depressed/suicidal and the ups and downs that happen when you have clinical depression and the frustration that comes along with it.
This book was good but also potentially very triggering. I wouldn't recommend this book if you're still struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.
This book is a better retrospective for those who have gotten to the other side of it and have the coping skills to be able to take all of this in.

This is avery hard book to review. It was excellent and made you think about your own life and the momeent we all have about things. This book explores the author's own experience with suicide. It's' powerful stuff and keeps you turning the pages but you read this book please be prepared for possible things that may make you uncomfortable and familiar. It's also more about the issue of suicide throught the years and how it happens more than we think. The times we live in today suicide rates are on the rise, Just know by reading this book you will see that there are ways through difficult moments. I'm glad the author wrote this book. It will be very helpful for people considering and for those family members who may have a member that is having these type of thoughts. Fascinating. Thank you to #netgalley and #pantheon for the ARC

Many among us have known someone who committed suicide or has contemplated ending their life. It is a very complex issue and trauma.

The author of this book has tried to commit suicide many times, beginning when he was only around six years old. And yet, he is still here. Martin is also a professor of philosophy. Who could have greater insight into the mind of a suicidal person and the many challenges it presents? Martin takes a very deep dive into his subject and looks at it from many perspectives while also sharing his own story.

This book may well not be for everybody. That said, there are some who will find it to be immensely helpful. The author is candid, writes well and has so much to say.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for this title. All opinions are my own.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. It's pretty much a memoir. It was also disorganized and disconnected. It just around a lot and it is hard to keep up with. I understand the desired effect however, I don't think it was conducted well.

This book was good. Like a mix of a memoir and a research project thing. It used humor in some areas of it but it was also serious and spoke of ways the author tried to commit and why others might try.