Eight Stories Up: An Adolescent Chooses Hope Over Suicide

by DeQuincy Lezine

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Author: DeQuincy Lezine

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 0195325575
ISBN 13: 978-0195325577

As a teenager, DeQuincy Lezine nearly ended his own life, believing it was the only way to escape the emotional pain that was overwhelming him. Instead, Lezine was able to find expert psychiatric care, and went on to found the first university campus-based chapter of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA.

Now a researcher at the University of Rochester's Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, Lezine has devoted his life to preventing suicide in adolescents, and he brings the wealth of his personal and professional experience to bear in Eight Stories Up. He starts by describing his deteriorating state of mind in college, using his own email archive to retell the episode that would nearly claim his life. He then offers hard-earned wisdom and practical advice to other young people who may be considering suicide. In straightforward, easy-to-understand language, and drawing on the psychiatric expertise of David Brent, MD, Lezine discusses the potential causes of suicide in adolescents, how to seek psychiatric treatment, and how to get the most out of professional help. He also surveys some of the therapies used to prevent suicide, how to talk to loved ones about suicidal thoughts, and how to stay healthy at home and at school. The result is both a remarkable memoir and a useful guide that will ease the isolation and hopelessness caused by thoughts of suicide, helping young people to overcome their troubles in a safe and healthy way.

Part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series of books written specifically for teens and young adults, Eight Stories Up offers hope to young people who are at risk of suicide, extending a lifeline of support and guidance that can save their lives.

Review

"[This book] is a fountain dually flowing copiously with anecdotal data and technical information about suicide. Laypersons thirsting for better understanding of suicide may be quite satisfied by the book's intellectually nourishing contents. And its contents may, as well, be very healthful to those thirsting professionally for better understanding of suicide, including: psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, behavioral therapists, psychiatric nurses, neurologists, suicide prevention experts, social workers, pediatricians, primary care physicians, school nurses, drug counselors, paramedics, and mental health advocates." --Metapsychology Online Reviews

"For those of us who have gotten caught in the rip current of depression, Eight Stories Up is a tether, a lifeline, with which we can begin to pull ourselves back to shore." --Brent Runyon, author of The Burn Journals

"Eight Stories Up is a practical, useful, and compelling book that should be in every high school library and on every therapist's shelf. Lezine and Brent have taken the complex, multifaceted problem of suicide and put it into language and examples that everyone can benefit from. Eight Stories Up clears up the confusion about suicide, answers the questions so many have, and sheds light on the practical, real-life struggle of one teen who overcame the demons, myths, and horrors of mental illness. As you walk through the author's life in this book, you will relate, learn, and develop your own insights to help get you through. What a fabulous book of hope and inspiration for anyone who feels their life might be over. Read Eight Stories Up and you will know that it is not!" --Daniel J. Reidenberg, Psy.D., FAPA, Executive Director (SAVE) Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, and Fellow, American Psychotherapy Association

"Interspersed with the poignant and personal experience of his own near-suicide, Lezine offers education and hope for others who may be thinking of ending their lives." --Bev Cobain, author of When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens and Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families after a Suicide

"Eight Stories Up is a powerful and important book. It offers hope to those without it and provides clear, practical suggestions for individuals and family members whose lives are hit by suicidal despair. I cannot recommend this book highly enough." --Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author of An Unquiet Mind

"A candid account of life's trials and hopes, Eight Stories Up is an engaging narrative perfect for any adolescent who may feel lost or alone. Infused with facts and resources, DeQuincy Lezine's gripping story of his depressed adolescence and chronicle of recovery brings us into his world and lets us all know we're not alone. With an honest view of his life and experiences, Lezine teaches all adolescents how to choose hope over suicide." --Alison K. Malmon, Founder and Executive Director, Active Minds, Inc.

"[P]owerful...In short, this book puts the complex, multifaceted problem of suicide into language and examples that everyone can understand and use. It should be in every high school and college library and on every therapist's shelf. Offering hope to suicidal youth, who typically feel that no one will understand their pain and who doubt that anyone cares enough to help, this book will inspire suicidal teens to seek help." --Choice

"Lezine's survival offers hope: Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he maintains his health and spirits. When youth workers and other caring adults place this lifesaving guide in young people's hands, they are introducing a wise and caring friend." --Youth Today

About the Author

DeQuincy A. Lezine, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide.
David Brent, MD, is Academic Chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, and Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics & Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he holds the Endowed Chair in Suicide Studies.

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Adolescent Psychology

Eight Stories Up: An Adolescent Chooses Hope Over Suicide