Link to Author Interview on The Diane Rehm Show
This memoir by Christopher Lukas, an accomplished author, producer, and actor, details his own survival in the midst of a family history of depression, bipolar disorder, and suicide. Mr. Lukas lost his mother to suicide at the age of six, which profoundly affected Mr. Lukas and his older brother, Pulitzer Prize Winner Tony Lukas. Their genetic predisposition for depression, coupled with the loss of their mother at young ages, contributed to the debilitating depression both brothers suffered. Fortunately, in college, Christopher Lukas enrolled in a psychology course and began to understand that grief and loss could be worked through by talking and writing. He embraced this concept and, in his words, has been "talking and writing ever since." Sadly, older brother Tony Lukas suicided in 1997. While this book can be emotionally difficult reading, I think it is a testament to the power of talking and writing to work through grief and loss.
If you have lost a loved one to suicide, you may also find this book by Christopher Lukas and Henry M. Seiden to be of comfort:
Another useful resource for grieving the loss of a loved one is:
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