Can a Book Help Prevent a Suicide?

Some books can change the world. Some can change us. Some can even heal.

When I had a concussion, I could not read long, complicated paragraphs.

An intern of mine wrote me many of these. Some of them made me cry with frustration.

I finally had to ask her to stop writing so much and simply distill her thoughts to a few simple paragraphs.

Ironically, I wouldn’t have known what was going on in my broken brain, if I had not read a world-changing book (listened as an audiobook, to be technically correct).

Flipboard helps me keep track of what is going on in the world. Some of it is amazing, and I share on Facebook or Twitter.

Some of it is heartbreaking, and I struggle with it. For example the 23 year old athlete and scholar who killed herself.

Suicide has hit my family in many ways over the years, so I know that feeling of, “Could I have prevented this?”

The answer is almost always no.

And yet…

…I read she was struggling with the devastating consequences of a concussion. I can relate. After I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my wrist, I also had a mild concussion.

Some books can help us understand ourselves. But this one can help a concussion-sufferer heal. It can also help someone who is caring for a concussion-sufferer offer concrete help that may prevent the type of depression that triggered this amazing young woman’s suicide.

If you know someone who has recently suffered a concussion, get this book. Read it. And then pass it on to the sufferer. But, remember, reading can be tough for that person, so offer to help with some small games that will give the person hope, that their broken brain will be whole again, with rest and patience.

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