History of a Suicide - by Jill Bialosky (Paperback)

About the Book

From acclaimed poet and novelist Bialosky comes an exploration of her sister's suicide and its lifelong impact on those left behind.

Book Synopsis

In this New York Times bestseller, Jill Bialosky, poet and author, undergoes "a profound and lyrical investigation" (New York magazine) as she attempts to understand the events and emotional state that led her sister to commit suicide and the impact of her death on family and loved ones.

On April 15, 1990, Kim, Jill Bialosky's younger sister, arrived home from a bar after a fight with her boyfriend. She took her mother's keys, went into the closed garage, and turned on the ignition. Her body was discovered the next morning by a neighborhood boy.

For decades, Bialosky has grappled with the guilt, questions, and devastation that was unloosed by Kim's suicide. Now, in this remarkable memoir, she attempts to reconstruct the complex inner life of her sister and in doing so, unlocks the nature of suicide itself and how we are each deeply affected by it.

In the course of trying to understand what drove her sister that night, Bialosky examines some of the most fundamental questions of human nature--why some of us more emotionally stable than others, even when raised in the same circumstances; how the unconscious shape our identities; what the difference is between depression and suicidal feelings; and why we sometimes fail to love and protect one another.

Combining Kim's own personal writings with family history, medical reportage, literary criticism, and research, Bialosky has crafted "an extraordinarily valiant and resonant testimony to the healing powers of truth and empathy" (Booklist).

Review Quotes

"A beautifully composed, deeply reflective work."
--Publishers Weekly

"A profound and lyrical investigation...Bialosky writes sensitively and beautifully." ----
--New York Magazine

"A searing elegy...this memoir reads like butter and cuts like a knife."
--People (4 star review)

"A tender, absorbing, and deeply moving memoir...[Bialosky] writes so gracefully and bravely that what you're left with in the end is an overwhelming sense of love."
--Entertainment Weekly

"An extraordinarily valiant and resonant testimony to the healing powers of truth and empathy."
--Booklist

"Brave and beautifully crafted."
--The Daily Beast

"Eloquent, harrowing and wise, this memoir is brave and necessary." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Extraordinarily useful...a source of solace and understanding.... [Bialosky's] hand is always skillful, as attentive to the rhythms of storytelling as to conveying emotion."
--Time

"That rare book that is so articulate and stunningly close to the bone that one holds one's breath while reading it. . . . Written with a poet's eye and a novelist's gift, History of a Suicide is remarkable for its author's bravery, candor and ability to tolerate the intolerable."
--A.M. Homes, author of This Book Will Save Your Life

"Valiant and eloquent...Bialosky's thoughtful book elucidates the complexity of suicide." ----
--Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Jill Bialosky is the author of five acclaimed collections of poetry, most recently Asylum. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, among others. She is the author of many novels including, The Deceptions, and several works of nonfiction including The End Is the Beginning, History of a Suicide, and Poetry Will Save Your Life. In 2015, Jill was honored by the Poetry Society of America for her distinguished contribution to the field of poetry. She lives in New York City. Find out more at JillBialosky.com.