A gentle note before you begin
This book speaks openly about despair, suicidal thoughts, and the urge to stop living. It does not give instructions, methods, or encouragement — but it does name the experience honestly.
Please read at your own pace, skip anything that feels too much, and reach out for support if you need it.
If it’s helpful, you can click here to Find A Helpline.
This book is for those of us who are looking into a huge black hole and feeling that life is not worth living.
It may also be helpful if you’re supporting someone you care about and want insight into how these feelings can show up from the inside.
It is about a way forward rather than a way out.
It sets out the five steps I discovered for living when life feels unliveable.
“literary medicine”
Amazon Reviewer
A few gentle questions
No. It’s about staying, honestly and imperfectly, through the moments that can feel unbearable. It doesn’t offer easy answers, just companionship and language for the dark.
Not at all. Many people dip in slowly, pause, and return when it feels right. It’s designed to be taken in small pieces.
Yes. People sometimes come to this book while trying to stay close to someone they love. It can offer language, perspective, and a little steadiness, especially when you don’t know what to say or do. It may help you understand what someone is moving through, without turning you into their fixer. You don’t have to carry it alone.
“A great book for young people, their parents who try to understand them and universally for all of us, who have gone in or near a black hole.”
Goodreads.com Reviewer
Other ways to read
If you prefer a physical copy or an e-reader version, the book is also available through various online booksellers.
Supporting this work
This book is free to read.
If you’d like to support the work and help keep it available to others, you’re welcome to do so in whatever way feels right to you.
A few dollars might be a morning coffee, a little more helps the work continue, and paying it forward helps someone else read it for free.
Thank you for reading — however far you choose to go.
