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.

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.