Unraveling My Father's Suicide

In this memoir, Kathleen Laplante's father commits suicide on her twenty-first birthday. Thirty years later, the twisted providence of these two events continues to rankle her, such that she undertakes new research. She discovers two other suicides in her family tree, and she discloses her own attempt at suicide. While they do not complete the final act, three other family members wrestle intensely with suicidal temptations, also known as suicidal ideation. Kathleen's conversion back to Catholicism helps her find faith and hope amidst this family trauma, and her candor enlivens the global discussion around the lethal nature of this social, medical, and spiritual issue.