Change the Narrative #Starttheconversation

The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) has a triennial theme for 2024-2026 World Suicide Prevention Day: Change the Narrative on Suicide #startthe conversation.

These are some of the books I’ve been reading over the last few years. One of them, Last Letters from Montmartre, found its way into my story ‘Qiu Miaojin Is Still Alive’, broadcast on Radio NZ in November 2024.

The story is set in Aotearoa NZ, on a number 83 bus going from Petone to Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Someone is sitting reading Last Letters from Montmartre by Qiu Miaojin (see image above) and happens to overhear a very disturbing conversation. The question is: will she speak out? It’s a ‘first they came for the …’ situation. In other words, serious.

But I hope the (dark) humour is apparent in the story, too. A L Kennedy sees humour as a ‘legitimate response to the horrors of the world’. I can so relate. Humour as a valid response? Absolutely.

A few excellent novels that I feel have this kind of humour:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Halibut on the Moon by David Vann

My reading on the theme of mental health and suicide (-awareness/-bereavement) has been part of research for a novel I’ve been writing.

In the meantime, here’s a helpful nonfiction book I found on the subject:

When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do to Prevent It by Rory O’Connor. This book also has chapters on bereavement and common myths. I found it very informative and kind.

Finally, I’d like to share this brilliant hub link: find a helpline.