“After A Parent’s Suicide: Helping Children Heal by Margo Requarth is a welcome and remarkable addition to the growing number of volumes that attempt to simultaneously educate families, professionals, and educators concerning common and serious problems that are swept under the rug, yet none is more “in the closet” than suicide. I can tell you from my own clinical experience of the surprising number of patients who eventually discover that one of their parents, in fact, took their own life, even though this fact was systematically covered up by all adult members of the family. Like the backdoor whispers about cancer in the 1950's and 60's, suicide remains a terribly stigmatized cause of death. Ms. Requarth, a survivor herself, is an experienced mental health professional who recognized the need for a volume to help those taking care of children who lost of a parent by suicide. Space constraints preclude my commenting on the thoughtful and scholarly, yet easy to read, sections on a variety of topics covered in this book. I want to particularly commend the chapter on “Depression and Bipolar Illness in Children.” Suicide is most often associated with severe mood disorders. Children of suicide victims are at risk, both for reasons of genetic predisposition and, of course, the major life stress of losing a parent, for developing a mood disorder. Thus, children of a parent who committed suicide should be carefully evaluated for the presence of depression or bipolar disorder and Ms. Requarth’s discussion of the warning signs are quite informative. In summary, I highly recommend this volume to parents, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers as well as educators.”
—Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Emory University School of Medicine
Board of Directors, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Co-author, The Peace of Mind Prescription

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“A comprehensive guide and resource, written with compassion, understanding and expertise.”
—Richard Lieberman, M.A., N.C.S.P.
Coordinator, Los Angeles Unified School District Suicide Prevention Unit

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