Clancy Martin predicted what type of reader might be interested in this book - someone like himself who was obsessed with suicide, someone who had attempted or considered suicide or someone strongly affected by the suicide of someone they were close to. I do not fit any of these categories. I, of course, have lost people I knew to suicide but fortunately no one I was close to. But, I am a health care provider and interested in understanding what makes people tick thus this book appealed to me. I think there is advice in this book for someone liked Clancy Martin. A lot of the information and details are heavy, but the author gives trigger warnings. There is a lot of philosophical theory in the book since Martin is a Philosopher. I personally found this very hard to plow through. I can not say I have ever heard of someone being obsessed with suicide on and off for their whole life so this book was eye-opening and sad for me to read. Since I can honestly say I have never considered suicide I can not buy into Martin's belief that we all unconsciously desire death. My religious beliefs are different than Martin's and this definitely influences my perspective on death. I do not believe in reincarnation so I believe I am obligated to make this the best life I can. I will definitely remember this book and was very interested in the advice Martin gave for talking down someone who was considering suicide since I would feel very inept in that role. Overall, I wouldn't lightly recommend this book except perhaps to someone interested in intervening with suicidal people.

This felt like a conversation with Clancy Martin, rather than a hoity-toity polished piece, if that makes any sense. I read one review that said Martin needed an editor and to cut out a lot, but I disagree. The style made it endearing and felt like he was with me telling me this. Maybe that’s not the point. It did leave some to be desired. I’ve been trying to pinpoint what exactly that “some” is. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and that Martin’s background in philosophy was there. His idea of “I can always just kill myself tomorrow” was something that stuck with me.
Due to the subject’s nature, this book would be hard to recommend without context, but I enjoyed reading it and plan to revisit it again in the future. Thanks for writing this Clancy Martin.

In How Not to Kill Yourself by Clancy Martin, he depicts his multiple suicide attempts throughout his life. Clancy Martin is unafraid to put his thoughts and actions on paper. At times throughout his life, he is obsessed with self-destruction and goes to great lengths to achieve it. But luckily enough for him, he has not made a successful attempt. The thought of taking one’s life can be incomprehensible to people, except those, similar to Clancy that have felt this way. This book was a difficult read for a multitude of reasons, its length, its wordiness. However, the message is important. To be able to write a book baring one’s most innermost thoughts about suicide may help someone who is considering it as he/she reads through the trials and tribulations of Clancy. The appendices were worthwhile and full of important resources in the areas of mental health and suicide. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book was a raw insight to why a person attemps suicide. This book was introspective and gave me new insights into mental health.

I find the book too extensive for what the author wants to tell. He, as a philosophy professor includes what other people of the philosophy and literature field have been through that ended in suicide. He is an alcoholic person and relate suicidal thinking as an addiction like alcoholism.

This book deserves a trigger warning. It is deep, complex, raw, honest. As someone who struggles with mental health it was eye opening to see the other side of depression. Huge thanks to the author for being willing to share such vulnerability with us.

This is one of those books that people have strong views on. Suicide is a subject no one wants to talk about.

It could be because it is such a taboo subject and one we really do not understand.

I watched a cousin commit suicide when we were just 13. I understood that he could not continue in the abuse cycle that killed his mother.

But I also take medication for anxiety and PTSD so this book was almost impossible for me to read.

A good resource book but not a good read.

This was a slog, and I feel like it could have been a lot more concise, more organized and a lot shorter. I chose to read it not because I am suicidal. I have never been suicidal. But like most people, I have known and cared about people who have been suicidal, and known people who lost people they cared about deeply to suicide. In reading it, I hoped to gain perspective and understanding. I'm not sure most of the book accomplishes that. There are definitely moments of clarity, and the final chapter in particular does a pretty good job of laying out steps for people to go through when they are struggling. But a lot of the book feels more like a memoir of someone struggling with alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts. The book felt like it went round and round in circles to me, talking about the same low points and the journey out of them multiple times. For a book that is promoted as addressing suicide, it also spends a significant amount of time addressing alcohol abuse. These things can definitely go hand in hand, but don't for everyone that struggles with one or the other. The book is a reminder that both of these are mental health disorders. We as a society need to continue to improve acknowledgement of mental health issues, reducing the stigma associated with them, and providing resources for people to get help with something that they have limited control over. This is definitely the strongest thing I take out of this book. It does also have some of the personal biases of a memoir that you wouldn't see in a true self help book. One of the circular debates that Martin has in the book regards trust and responsibility. He acknowledges that he has to own his decisions and his choices, but still assigns other people's choices to himself or blames others for their responses to his actions. He blames a decision he made for his father's death, a person that most likely passed along the genetic predisposition he has to depression and suicidal ideation. To me, he made a responsible decision, and making the opposite decision (when making it in the past had no positive outcome) could have possibly led to a worse outcome. His father made his own choices, and Martin is not responsible for them. He also speaks to trust, and the battle between someone's trust being worth living for and that person losing trust in him. Intuitively I understand this, but wow, is that ever a burden to place on your loved ones. Ultimately, each person is responsible for their well-being. This is a larger responsibility for some people than others, and the largest step you can possibly take is acknowledging that you want to do it, that you're willing to do what it takes to live your life even if it is a lot of work, acknowledging that you will stumble (and that it's okay), and that you hold value in other people's lives - and that you have something to contribute to the world around you and the people in it. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Great read for the non fiction category. Never read from this author before but was a good writing. Thank you from good reads to be able to read this

A sincere thank you for providing me an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity and leave my review voluntarily..

This was incredibly frank and informative. While I have never thought of suicide, there are many close to me who have and I read this as a way of understanding that mentality. Martin expertly weaves his own experience with those of other writers who have committed suicide in the past. It was part memoir, part an historical approach to suicide and it definitely resonated. I also greatly appreciate the resources he provides throughout and in the appendices for anyone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts.

In this book Clancy Martin describes facing the consequences of a suicide attempt in the hospital first. He describes his "suicidality" in clear specific ways that distinguish it from unhappiness, grief, depression, or alcohol and drug addictions, though he subjects himself to plenty of those things too. Martin's "suicidality" and probably his addictions seem linked to impulsive thrill-seeking behavior, as shown in childhood, even before his family fell apart, by impulses to jump in front of a bus and do other self-destructive things. Though unwilling to be hospitalized again, he tells us, he's apt to forget this when ordinary life seems unbearably dull and he feels drawn to death. Martin's discussion of his peculiar pattern of depression (and of alcoholism) is certainly valuable to all who study mental illness. His description of how he modified AA's approach to manage his "addiction to suicidality" may or may not prove equally valuable to suicidal people.

Martin also discusses suicide and suicidality in literature in a fresh way., giving more attention to more obscure writers, from Seneca to Yiyun Li, than to familiar ones like Nietzsche, Hemingway, or Plath.

I find this book frustrating because Martin completely ignores some of my favorite topics in psychology, though they seem relevant. He does mention exercise as relieving his depression but does not mention having worked with a diet-based approach to managing his moods, as discussed in "Potatoes Not Prozac." His discussion of other people's dismissal of his non-typical alcoholism is probably something the whole world should read, but it overlooks Joan Mathews-Larsen's study of the different patterns of alcoholism.

Of course, for those who are not suicidal at the time of reading, a full-length book about suicidality as distinct from ordinary depression is not exactly a fun read--but this book may be useful, even lifesaving, for both suicidal and depressed people.

I expected a different book than what this memoir was. Once I started reading I could not wait to get done, too depressing, and a subject I have a hard time relating to. It grieves me when I hear of someone young and in their prime who commits suicide, especially when I know young people who have cancer and would give anything to live. So. I struggled with what Clancy Martin calls the perceived 'selfishness' of the suicidal person. The author alluded to suicide possibly having genetic origins, which weirdly I read an article that 4 different genes are possibly involved in suicide.
I gave 2 stars for several reasons. Other than the Appendices which were filled with important resources, I felt the book was too encouraging for anyone stuck in suicidal ideation. The writing was scattered and disjointed and quite repetitive. I think the book would have worked better as strictly a memoir rather than attempting to make it a self-help book also.

Wow, this book was really something. I obviously recommend you check the trigger warnings before reading this one. i wouldn't say it is a self help book. I didn't read it as if it was, instead I read it because I found it interesting. My fiance struggles with mental illness so when I read the synopsis for this one I knew I requested it. Sadly, this isn't one I would recommend to him. I feel for the author and I appreciate all of his honesty!

I received a free copy of,How Not to Kill Yourself, by Clancy Martin, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is so depressing, the author Clancy Martin has attempted suicides numerous times. This book was very hard to read at times.

A truly important book, one that should remind all of us that we never really know the workings of another's mind. We might tend to believe we know why they do what they do, and even why someone tries to kill themselves (Just a cry for help!), but to know this is impossible. A therapist once told me that a person who kills themselves does so because they want their pain to end immediately.

Each time I said to myself, "Yes, but..." while reading Clancy's book, the content showed me my assumptions were not so watertight as I'd once thought. For example, I admit to saying, "Yes, but if Clancy really wanted to kill himself, all he had to do was use a gun." The author proved me wrong at every turn. The reader might also say that if someone REALLY wants to kill themselves, then they should just keep trying. Clancy addressed this view as well. I'm grateful that he had the bravery to write about suicide in such honest detail.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I see this book has a lot of mixed reviews at this point.
I enjoyed it. The author is quite open and honest and adds in some humor as well.
I couldn’t quite categorize this as a self help book but maybe more of a memoir of the authors struggles.
Definitely one worth reading though.

I was apprehensive about reading this book but was pleasantly surprised. I liked how there was some humor in there since it's SUCH a heavy topic. For anyone who has any familiarity with the topic at all, I think it will be an enjoyable read, although not the greatest topic to pass the time with. Overall, it's uplifting in a philosophical way!

Clancy Martin says he is addicted to suicide. He has wanted to kill himself at least from the time he was two or three-years-old. Martin’s first suicide attempt occurred when he jumped in front of a bus at six. He has made several attempts, most of which he describes in detail.


Martin compares his suicide addiction to alcohol addiction, with which he freely admits he struggles. Martin likens some AA catchphrases to suicide, such as, “Relapse is part of recovery”, and, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic”. He also notes the high correlation between alcohol and suicide.


Martin claims he wrote this book to show what it is like to want to kill yourself but go on living, to persuade those with suicide ideation not to follow through, for those near someone who has attempted suicide to treat that person gently, and for those left behind not to blame themselves.


Martin admits he wouldn’t refer someone considering suicide to the books of Anne Sexton, Edouard Leve, David Foster Wallace, or Nelly Arcan; these writers wrote about suicide and eventually killed themselves. Yet, Martin refers to the writings and lives (and deaths) of these authors in this book.


Martin, a Canadian philosophy professor, quotes, among others, Buddhist teaching, Goethe, Schopenhauer, Alfred Adler, Nietzsche, Freud, William Styron, and Eastern thought.


Is this really a self-help book for those afraid of giving in to the urge to kill themselves? Despite Martin’s 9-point list of what he applies when he feels suicidal, Appendix I: Tools for Crisis, and Appendix II: In Case of Emergency, I believe this book may be the impetus that give someone the courage to kill themselves. Martin talks about others who have committed suicide, quotes them, and aggrandizes their irrevocable act. Martin self-indulgently wallows in suicide. The book would be more helpful if he cut all but his list and the two appendices.


As of the writing of this book, Martin says his drinking is under control and he does not desire to “[hang] myself from a cedar beam in the garage”, a vivid phrase he uses more than once. He has overcome the dysfunctional family situation of his boyhood, excessive drinking, drug abuse, and multiple marriages. I sincerely hope that Martin can stay in his present healthy mental state and die what he calls a good death, not by his own hand.


I cannot recommend this book.

While How Not to Kill Yourself is partly an overview of how and why people are so desperate that they attempt suicide, it is also a rambling discourse of the author’s journey through what seems like Dante’s circles of misery and punishment. Throughout the book I asked myself, “Why did Mr. Martin not seek psychotherapy?”, because he seemed so unhappy and desperate.

I am not sure what I expected when I downloaded this ARC from NetGalley. I think I expected a more scholarly review of suicide literature with some very straightforward advice on what to do if you find yourself ready to jump off the bridge. He does provide them in the Appendix, probably the most important part of the book.

So I really find myself scratching my head about why this book was written, because it tells a lot of family stories that are quite unpleasant and that would scar any child for life, and it attempts to be an analysis of what goes on in the minds of people with suicidal ideation, and, frankly, it just doesn’t hang together as a cogent look at what is definitely a serious mental health issue.