"In 'From the Edge Back: A Journey Through the Shadows of Suicide,' readers are invited on a transformative journey out of the depths of despair and into the light of understanding and hope. This book addresses the harrowing experience of suicidal thoughts and feelings with unflinching honesty, deep compassion, and practical wisdom. It serves as a comprehensive guide for those who have faced, are facing, or wish to understand the abyss of suicide, offering a lifeline to recovery and resilience. Through a blend of personal narratives, psychological insights, and therapeutic wisdom, 'From the Edge Back' illuminates the complex interplay of factors contributing to suicidal despair, including mental health challenges, societal pressures, and the profound sense of isolation that often accompanies these dark moments. Beyond its explorative discussion, the book provides actionable strategies for coping, healing, and finding renewed purpose, emphasizing the importance of connection, empathy, and community support. This book is not just a roadmap out of darkness; it's a call to action for society to engage more openly and compassionately with the subject of suicide. It advocates for a collective shift towards understanding, destigmatizing mental health struggles, and building a more supportive environment for those in need. 'From the Edge Back' is an essential resource for individuals seeking to reclaim their lives, loved ones striving to provide support, and anyone committed to fostering a more empathetic world." Back Book Cover Text "Where does hope reside when all seems lost? How does one find the strength to step back from the brink of despair? 'From the Edge Back: A Journey Through the Shadows of Suicide' confronts these questions head-on, guiding readers through the darkest of times towards a place of hope and healing. With a compassionate voice, this book explores the depths of suicidal despair, the resilience of the human spirit, and the transformative power of understanding and empathy. It offers not only a path to recovery for those struggling but also insight for those who wish to support them. This is more than a book; it's a beacon of hope for those navigating through the shadows of suicide, and a call to action for all of us to create a kinder, more understanding world. Your journey back from the edge begins here."

In this “seismically moving memoir” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice), one woman asks a seemingly impossible question in the aftermath of her mother’s suicide: How do you mourn a loved one as you repair the injuries they inflicted? “Laura Trujillo resurfaces from the dark ‘sub-basement’ of despair with assurances for us all: There is hope. There is healing. Always, there is love. This book will save lives.”—Connie Schultz, author of The Daughters of Erietown ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker Laura Trujillo had been close to her mother for most of her adult life, raising her four children within a few miles of their beloved grandmother’s Phoenix home. But just three months after moving her young family to Cincinnati for a new job, Laura receives shocking news: Her mother had taken her own life—by jumping off a ledge into the Grand Canyon, a place Laura knew her mother had always loved. Laura and her mother had shared a profound and special bond, yet each had also kept from the other the deepest truths about their lives. As an adult, Laura finally broke her silence about the sexual abuse she had suffered as a teenager at the hands of her stepfather—a secret Laura had buried to protect her mother. After her mother’s death, Laura embarks on an emotional odyssey, searching for clues that could explain the depression, intergenerational trauma, and shared heartbreaks in her family. When she returns to the Grand Canyon, it becomes an oasis that nurtures Laura’s search for redemption and peace. As Laura wrestles with her feelings, she forges a new path forward. Moving and intimate, powerfully told, Stepping Back from the Ledge is a remarkable exploration of the bond between a mother and daughter, and of the hope that can come from facing the truth.

A touching and heartwrenching collection of honest, unpolished poetry. This book chronicles the pain of one young man during the most difficult period of his life. Although at times it does seem to be deserving of the title, this collection actually can offer hope and enlightenment to anyone struggling with the challenges of life.

In an attempt to escape the unbearable pain after losing my son Ben to suicide, I would withdraw deep within myself to seek refuge, and in this isolation my screams remained silent and expression became muted. Because the pain is ever near, sadly, this silence tends to be unending and little is said about the aftermath of suicide but, I believe, many would wish to feel understood in their continuing battle with its effects, and those around us who could only express the magnitude of this loss by saying 'I can't begin to know what you are going through' might prefer to be informed. Touching all the rawness within has been a slow but determined process and if my story can help to express and validate the pain of some, give insight to others and in any way promote the prevention of suicide, I could, in the telling of it, find some gladness.

The press called Martin's actions a "crime spree." Already convicted of armed robbery, Martin was facing the death penalty. In less than two weeks the jury would decide his fate. Terrified that his son would be sentenced to die, Phillip did the only thing he felt he could do: in an act of faith and desperation in his garage with the car exhaust running, Phillip made the consummate sacrifice to spare his son the ultimate punishment. Ironically, his suicide presented Martin's with another chance at life; the jury, moved by Martin's loss, spared his life. Phillip's story-like those of the other parents, siblings, children, and cousins chronicled in this book-vividly illustrates the precarious position family members of capital offenders occupy in the criminal justice system. At once outsiders and victims, they live in the shadow of death, crushed by trauma, grief, and helplessness. In this penetrating account of guilt and innocence, shame and triumph, devastating loss and ultimate redemption, the voices of these family members add a new dimension to debates about capital punishment and how communities can prevent and address crime. Restorative justice theory, which views violent crime as an extreme violation of relationships; searches for ways to hold offenders accountable; and meets the needs of victims and communities torn apart by the crime, organizes these narratives and integrates offenders' families into the process of transforming conflict and promoting justice and healing for all. What emerges from hundreds of hours' worth of in-depth interviews with family members of offenders and victims, legal teams, and leaders in the abolition and restorative justice movements is a vision of justice strongly rooted in the social fabric of communities. Showing that forgiveness and recovery are possible in the wake of even the most heinous crimes, while holding victims' stories sacred, this eye-opening book bridges the pain of living in the shadow of death with the possibility of a reparative form of justice. Anyone working with victims, offenders, and their families-from lawyers and social workers to mediators and activists-will find this riveting work indispensable to their efforts.

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A novel that follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning achievement in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. Tony Webster thought he left his past behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.