I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

How Not To Kill Yourself is truly giong to hit hard for a lot of people... me included.
IT was raw, emotional, powerful.... and so many other adjectives.

The author did a great job including educational informative, but also relating to the topic.

Keep in mind, this may be triggering for some. It is a memoir about suicide. So keep that in mind before jumping in.

This is an amazing book. It's full of interesting and useful in information about the myths around suicide and facts that let you understand this topic.
I think the author did a really good job to describe how the mind (even the chemistry) works on a brain with depression. I appreciate the philosophical insight and the statistics of what's considered "a successful suicide" and how people treat other people who doesn't achieve it.
In a world where a lot of people are dealing with mental health issues, this a book I'll start recommending from now on.

I don't really enjoy reviewing memoirs on their content, it just feels wrong to me, What I will say about this book is that it is heavy and triggering in ways I don't think I fully expected. The chapters are long and detailed and I found myself having to take frequent breaks from reading for the sake of my own mental health.

However, it was absolutely worth reading and I recommend it to anyone who has ever dealt with suicidal ideation or attempts, whether on their own or through a loved one.

„How Not To Kill Yourself“ is a memoir meeting a non-fiction book about several topics surrounding the main theme of suicide halfway, presenting itself in a very frank, direct way and choice of words. I’m convinced there needs to be a more open conversation surrounding suicide, the various forms of it and the extremely varying life situations that make people feel the need to commit to it, thus I think this can be a very discourse opening book. However, for me personally, I struggled a lot while reading this, maybe due to my own life situation, maybe because some passages felt like they were dragging over a lot more pages than they might have needed to.
This book presents a different outlook onto the immense topic of suicide: various forms people choose, the author’s personal experience with different methods, the aftermath of possibly failed suicidal attempts and also surprising examples of people that have committed, where the general public would never have expected them to and a lot more connected topics.
Mr. Martin chooses a very forward style to tackling these themes and sometimes I noticed myself needing breaks from this book, because I came close to drifting into a non-healthy spiral of thoughts myself.
I would be very careful to whom I recommend this book and as a resume myself I would probably state that I was not in the right place to tackle it. Thus, it is very hard for me to find an appropriate rating for How Not To Kill Yourself, but I’ll go with a neutral 3 star rating.

As someone who has also experienced issues with suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and lost loved ones in this manner, I jumped at the chance to read this. I was hoping to find some insight or something. That’s not what I got. This was closer to a memoir than I was ready for. I was expecting this to be more scientific or research based mixed with personal experience but it’s mostly a wordy memoir, which is just not what I was prepared for.

This isn’t something I would just recommend either. There is a considerable amount of triggering language in this book and if you’re in the throes of suicidal ideation this may read as a bit too relatable.

I do wish this had taken a couple trips through an editor or something as the potential is there for this being a really powerful and helpful book, but in its present state I can’t say it’s effective (but that’s just my opinion as someone who has been there).

I don’t rate memoirs, but a rating is required on NetGalley so I’m going a neutral ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Free ebook.

This was not exactly what I thought I was getting into... Granted I have note read a lot of books on suicide but, those first 100 pages were so triggering that it took me way too long to read to write this review. Honestly this would have been the first book I would have DNF if it wasn't for the pressure to review. This is a good book for research on other books, if that makes sense. It has a ton of resources. The author lists every single resource as his favorite so one has to be a good one? This could have used some editing to get to the facts and a little less on the authors attempts. Appreciate the attempt but this felt, wrong.

The author recounts his multiple previous suicide attempts and discusses how he got to a place of, so far, continuing to live. There was a chapter on parasuicide, self-destructive drinking, drugs, etc., that will likely eventually lead to death but aren't a direct suicide, which was really interesting. I'm drawn to these books of depression and suicide in a kind of need to read things by people who feel some of the same things I do, but they are also somewhat dangerous. If I'm already down, I don't need to feel worse, and if I'm doing okay, I worry about bringing myself down. Because of that, it took me forever to get through it. Some parts were a bit of a slog too, but overall it was interesting. I think if you haven't had those thoughts and feelings, this could be either irritating or enlightening. I read most of this but quit near the end because my life took something of a difficult turn and I just don't think this is the book to read right now. But I don't want it sitting here in limbo forever, so I'm going to pretend I finished it and come back to the last couple chapters in the future, hopefully. 3 stars overall

Part memoir, part research paper.

It reads as if the author had written two different books on the same topic, and rather than publishing both separately, he decided to combine them into one book. The only issue is that he appears to have spent little to no time editing the text in order to unite them both... With that said, it was a very honest and thought-provoking read that I'm glad to have read.

Clancy gives great insight into the thought process of someone that is suicidal, giving his accounts of his multiple attempts at suicide and the thoughts he was going through. He is not a psychologist but has dealt with these thoughts his entire life and is able to give a non-clinical perspective to what he's going through.

I don't think this book is for everyone and should not replace someone seeking help, but his ability to assess himself with empathy for himself and his family was a very eye-opening account.

This was an interesting read to say the least. An interesting take and really got your mind thinking. I’m glad I gave it a shot and hope others do too.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I am a psychology major, and the title and description/subject matter of this book drew me into wanting to read it. I wanted to like it, however, it was not what I thought it was going to be. I tried to read it three times before finally deciding to DNF it.

This is an incredibly frank and vulnerable look at suicide, centered around the author's own experiences attempting suicide. It's a bit too long, but I appreciate the balance in tone. It was matter-of-fact while still showing a lot of sensitivity. I think if the book had been shorter, that might have helped it feel less disjointed, but this is an important book that is certain to help others.

I enjoyed the spirit of this book and appreciate the honestly and openness of the author to share his story.
I did feel like the ideas in this book were unorganized and it made the overall theme harder to digest. Also there we a lot of asides that felt disjointed from the flow of the story. I think this can be a great book for those with disjointed thoughts that want to feel seen. I personally felt that the disorganization took away from the main themes,

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy and than you to the Author for sharing your story with us. I hope this helps lots of people feel understood and seen. This book is out now.

This was a brave one. I found out through this book that Clancy Martin is a local author for me here in Kansas City and an author that I will continue to follow. An often tough but honest piece of the insight of the mind of suicide. The subject important, however I thought that at times the story line weaved to more disjointed, and I wished for more of a straightforward or concise stream of thoughts.


I do believe that it will be helpful for many.

Thank you Netgalley and Pantheon for the ARC!

This is an interesting book. If you know anyone that is thinking about suicide, you need to get this book in their hands. NOW! This book is written by someone who has been in that mindset, and lived and thrived after figuring out that there is another path. This book is a well written book for ANYONE who isthinking about it or loves someone who is facing that demon.

This novel has several different voices. There are chapters for those who are suicidal and for people who have felt suicidal. There are chapters for people who have tried and chapters for those who are trying. Yet, some chapters are meant for the loved ones of suicidal people, whether they succeed or fail. It covers every facet of suicide and is therefore a valuable toolkit to retain and utilize again.

This is accurate, heartbreaking, profoundly personal, and informative. I advise anyone who has been impacted by suicide in any manner to purchase a copy of this book.

I always have a hard time rating books like this, because it feels odd to place a rating on someone’s story, but there was no doubt this would be 5++++++ stars! The stories, the research, the vulnerability. He normalizes the many faces of suicidality, he is extremely vulnerable about his own experiences, and he shows great empathy for others who have struggled with suicide in many different ways. Martin’s willingness to share this book is truly a gift.

This is an intimate portrait of the author’s mental health struggles and suicide attempts. It takes courage to write a book like this, especially with all of the stigma around suicide. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the memoir style of this book. I really liked what he said about the death of Robin Williams and how people are more sympathetic to suicide if someone is debilitated by physical pain. But if someone is debilitated by emotional pain, that’s not a good enough reason. I guess I was expecting something a little different from the blurb and the title.

I am so thankful to netgalley for accepting my request for this book. It is such an important message that more needs to hear. Those with mental illness, those who have attempted suicide or considered it, those who knows someone who has tried...it was so real and shattering to read the words of someone so lost that they truly believe this is the best way. I wanted to hug him and do whatever I could to help. I hope this book does its job to help people understand, help them get help before it gets to this point and just opens people's eyes and minds up to understand the sickness

This was an interesting memoir of someone with comorbid substance abuse and suicidality. At times, this felt verbose and lost my attention.