Suicide/Literature

Suicide literature consists of books that not only document suicide methods, but also related issues such as living wills, applicable laws, and so forth. It should not include a work simply because suicide is mentioned or acted out.

Beyond Final Exit

First published in 1995, this book was written by Chris Docker, Cheryl Smith, John Hofsess and Bruce Dunn.

Description of "Beyond Final Exit" from its website: "Beyond Final Exit" is the companion volume to "Departing Drugs", our world-famous 'how-to' user-guide to self-deliverance. Death affects us all and, sadly, it is not always painless or dignified. Advice on painlessly dying by one’s own hand varies in its quality and sometimes different manuals seem to give different advice. That is why we published "Beyond Final Exit". "Beyond Final Exit" is a collection of essays explaining the basis of the assertions in "Departing Drugs", with hundreds of references from respected medical journals in support the facts."

Availability

• This book is privately published; one cannot order it from major book stores.
• According to its website, the book is temporarily out of print (since at least January 2009).

Departing Drugs

First published in 1993 was written by Chris Docker and Cheryl Smith with an International Drugs Consensus Working Party. More information on this book will follow later; meanwhile, you might want to try this link.

Availability

• A reprint is available from Exit, a Scottish organisation, to members of at least three months standing. Proof of age is required with any application.

See also Five Last Acts II and Five Last Acts - The Exit Path.

Five Last Acts

First published in 2007, this book was written by Chris Docker M.Phil (Law and Ethics in Medicine), a researcher with over 15 years of experience specialising in self-deliverance methodology. A major update was published in 2010.

Availability

• The book is available from Amazon.com. It is also available to UK members of Exit at a reduced price but conditions apply.

Five Last Acts - The Exit Path

Published in 2013, with 752 pages, represents probably the most encyclopaedic of any book on the subject of self-deliverance. Collates and critically examines 20 years of research as well as much new material. Provides both easy "how-to" diagrams and "in-a-nutshell" sections, together with in-depth scholarly analysis. The Five Last Acts series contain extensive footnotes and citations providing evidence on all points, as well as refuting erroneous information sources. Alternative methods are proposed and compared. Multidisciplinary work highlights the shortcomings in methods of suicide previously considered 'safe' and throws new light on areas that have been glossed over in shorter "coffee-table" guides. This is the serious reference work for readers with a deep interest as well as professionals and other researchers.

Availability

• From most leading Amazon outlets (such as [1] Amazon.com) and from bookshops. ISBN-13: 978-1482594096

Final Exit

Final Exit by journalist Derek Humphry is famous for being the first widespread book to provide a suicide tutorial. It is a great book if you are looking for information about matters like living wills, life insurance, letters to be written, legal situation for assistance, etc. It has been in print for 25 years.

Derek Humphry is an investigative journalist and not a trained medical doctor, but the accuracy of advice given in his book is not disputed. (He is the author of 12 nonfiction books)

The book itself has been updated in 2010, when the revised 3rd edition was released. However, there is an addendum supplement available from the book's official website, which was last updated in 2016.

Availability

• Final Exit is available from Amazon; its price was $11.56 in August 2010.
• An official digital edition is available for download at the book's official website.

Guide to a Humane Self-Chosen Death

First published in 2006, this book was jointly written by the following medical professionals:

• Dr. Pieter V. Admiraal, M.D. and Ph.D. A retired but well-experienced anaesthetist as well as a member of the Committee of Euthanatics of the Royal Dutch Pharmaceutical Society.
• Boudewijn E. Chabot, M.D. A psychiatrist and researcher in medical sociology. He has a website dedicated to a dignified end for the elderly.
• Russel D. Ogden, criminologist and researcher in new technology for self-deliverance.
• Aad Rietveld (pen name), Ph.D. A biochemist and medical toxicologist by trade.
• Jan Glerum, Ph.D. A retired professor of clinical pharmacy and a hospital pharmacist.

The committee also declared (see their book mentioned above) to have received advice and consultancy from two professors in hospital pharmacy, who critically reviewed and improved their drug cocktail suicide methods. Last but not least, the committee received suggestions for improvements from the advisory board of WOZZ. WOZZ is an abbreviation of Dutch Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek naar Zorgvuldige Zelfdoding, which would roughly mean Scientific Research for Carefully-Executed Suicide in English. WOZZ is a foundation that was established by four doctors who were researching the subject matter of a humane self-chosen death.

Availability

• This book cannot be ordered from major book stores; it can only be obtained from some right-to-die societies and it's available in a free PDF form on the DignifiedDying website.

The Peaceful Pill Handbook

The Peaceful Pill Handbook by Dr. Philip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart is one of the most detailed suicide tutorials available via normal bookstores and Amazon. Nitschke is an Australian medical doctor and right-to-die activist, while Stewart is an Australian public health sociologist. Since Dr. Nitschke (also PhD, MBBS and BSc (Hons)) is a trained medical professional, the advice and information given in his book is generally precise and reliable.

However, where the Helium suicide method is concerned, the findings of the Dutch right-to-die foundation WOZZ were proven to be more accurate than those of Dr. Nitschke. This, combined with our own research regarding the Helium method, made us decide to follow the instructions given in the book of WOZZ-member Dr. Pieter Admiraal instead, rather than those of Dr. Nitschke.

Nonetheless, The Peaceful Pill Handbook provides very detailed and useful instructions, such as how one can safely purchase liquid Nembutal in Tijuana (and from other sources, most notably Chinese suppliers) and which possible complications one can expect (like where and how one can exactly obtain liquid Nembutal).

Availability

• The Peaceful Pill Handbook is available from Amazon; its price was $35.00 in August 2010.
• An official digital edition is available for download at the book's official website, but please note that the digital edition is more expensive with its price of $85.00. However, you will get a two-year subscription to the latest updates on Nembutal suppliers.

Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences

Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences by Geo Stone contains lots of scientific research and statistical information on suicide. This book is probably the best option for you if you are interested in matters like: "What methods are most widely used? Does firearm availability increase a country's suicide rate? What methods are statistically highly lethal?" and so on.

Availability

• Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences is currently out of print, but one can still obtain a second-hand copy from Amazon.
• Approximately half of the book is available at the book's official website.

The Sunset Limited

The Sunset Limited is a play by American writer Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy's second published play, it was first produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on May 18, 2006, and it traveled to New York City later that same year. The play was published in a paperback edition about the same time that it opened in New York. Some consider it to be more a novel than a true play, partly because of its subtitle, "A Novel in Dramatic Form".

Plot

The play involves only two nameless characters, designated "White" and "Black", their respective skin colors. Offstage, just before the play begins, Black saves White from throwing himself in front of a train. The title, The Sunset Limited, is derived from the name of a passenger train that travels from New Orleans to Los Angeles. All of the action takes place in Black's sparse apartment, where the characters go (at the behest of Black) after their encounter on the platform. Black is an ex-convict and an evangelical Christian. White is an atheist and a professor. They debate the meaning of human suffering, the existence of God, and the propriety of White's attempted suicide.