Suicide and the Self

This book centers on self-accounts of suicidal behavior, using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to offer a qualitative perspective within current suicidology and suicide prevention research.

Suicide and the Self: A Discourse Analysis Approach to Self-Narratives of Suicide is the first qualitative study to explore suicide through the eyes of the person experiencing it. The volume is grounded in foundational CDA concepts, which view social reality as constructed through language, and draws on data from real people’s writings, interviews, visual representations, and farewell letters to understand the discursive resources and linguistic patterns in these narratives from varied temporal perspectives.

By focusing on how individuals construct their own stories, Galasiński and Ziółkowska show how a discourse analytic approach can enrich suicidological research and inform suicide prevention efforts. This book is essential reading for scholars in suicidology, medical humanities, allied health, and discourse analysis.