Suicide Notes: A Novel
by Michael Thomas Ford
“Let me tell you something, seeing your name and psychiatric ward on the same piece of paper isn't the best way to start your day.”
What would you do if you woke up one day in the psychiatric ward? That is exactly how this book begins. The main character Jeff, finds himself in this situation after attempting to commit suicide. The rest of the book is broken up into 45 chapters. Each chapter covers one day of treatment for Jeff in this facility. In the beginning, Jeff refuses to admit that he has a mental illness and could use help. He criticizes those around him, calling attention to how crazy they are, and how he doesn't belong to be placed with him. This novel spans his treatment and also his journey to accepting and understanding others, his sexuality, his mental illness, and himself as a person.
First of all, I found this book to be hilarious. It often made me laugh in public and I was left with countless highlighter stripes marking the witty comments and thoughts of the protagonist, Jeff. Some of these notable witty comments are "“It's a really crappy feeling to realize that your entire outook on your life can be controlled by some little pill that looks like a Pez, and that some weird combination of drugs can make your brain think it's on a holiday somewhere really sweet when you're standing naked in the middle of the school cafeteria while everyone takes pictures of you. Metaphorically. Or whatever.” (E-book) and "It's like whoever sits up there in Heaven had this big bag of really crappy stuff, and once or twice a day she or he reaches in and sprinkles a little bit of it over the world and it makes everything go crazy, like fairy dust that's past its expiration date.” (E-book) Due to this, I found the book to be relatable and it was easy to emotionally connect to Jeff. The way the author formulated Jeff's personal thoughts made it as if he was speaking to a close friend. His emotions and attitude, aside from the mental illness, was something that I think most teens would connect with and see their own thoughts mirrored back to them; making this book culturally relevant not only to teens who may be dealing with suicide but all teens in general.
My favorite aspect of this novel was the fact that although it is a novel concerning mental illness and depression, it truly did not seem to focus solely on the mental illness. The characters had so much depth, as did their relationships. Though you are first presented with a cast of characters that seem "crazy' and unbelievable, over the span of the novel the author lets you into their stories and as Jeff begins to accept them, as a reader you do as well. Sadie, one of Jeff's fellow psych ward inhabitants explains the pecking order of crazy due to depression within the ward. She states ""First you have your generic depressives. They're a dime a dozen and usually pretty boring. Then you've got the bulimics and the anorexics. They're slightly more interesting, although usually they're just girls with nothing better to do. Then you start getting into the good stuff: the arsonists, the schizophrenics, the manic-depressives." (E-book) Due to the fact that characters start out as defined by a mental illness or by their prior actions, and throughout the novel readers are presented with more depth, I think that this novel is extremely positive in showing that there is so much more to a person than their label or illness..
Ford not only writes about mental illness and depression, but as Will Grayson, Will Grayson does, Suicide Notes also focuses on the confusion of finding one's sexuality and coming to terms with this sexuality. This was where I found a striking resemblance between the novels. Their authenticity was superb. Jeff's character is believable and realistic. I think this is partially due to the fact that the author is a homosexual himself. Due to this he most likely has first hand experience with recognizing and sharing his sexuality and is able to portray this in his character formation flawlessly.
This novel also did a really good job when assessed using the ten criteria of the Image and Encounters Profile. This novel definitely promoted empathy and acceptance. It also has a shiny happy ending, which may not come across as overtly realistic, yet it emphasizes success through finding and accepting yourself for who you are. This is an extremely important message for all teens, yet could be an even more powerful message for a teen who is dealing with a mental illness or depression. I think that Jeff is an extremely realistic character and although the novel begins with a 'disability focused' mentality towards characters, Ford breaks this down through out the novel and readers see characters for who they are rather than solely their mental illness.
The only possible issue I found within this book was the fact that at times it was often explicit. This can be said not only about the language but in regards to content as well. There is heavy cursing and subject matter floats from drugs, to sex, and at times masturbation. Yet I found this to be authentic in the fact that it is written about a teenage boy, the audience would just need to be of an older age group and mature enough to handle such content.
My favorite aspect of this novel was the fact that although it is a novel concerning mental illness and depression, it truly did not seem to focus solely on the mental illness. The characters had so much depth, as did their relationships. Though you are first presented with a cast of characters that seem "crazy' and unbelievable, over the span of the novel the author lets you into their stories and as Jeff begins to accept them, as a reader you do as well. Sadie, one of Jeff's fellow psych ward inhabitants explains the pecking order of crazy due to depression within the ward. She states ""First you have your generic depressives. They're a dime a dozen and usually pretty boring. Then you've got the bulimics and the anorexics. They're slightly more interesting, although usually they're just girls with nothing better to do. Then you start getting into the good stuff: the arsonists, the schizophrenics, the manic-depressives." (E-book) Due to the fact that characters start out as defined by a mental illness or by their prior actions, and throughout the novel readers are presented with more depth, I think that this novel is extremely positive in showing that there is so much more to a person than their label or illness..
Ford not only writes about mental illness and depression, but as Will Grayson, Will Grayson does, Suicide Notes also focuses on the confusion of finding one's sexuality and coming to terms with this sexuality. This was where I found a striking resemblance between the novels. Their authenticity was superb. Jeff's character is believable and realistic. I think this is partially due to the fact that the author is a homosexual himself. Due to this he most likely has first hand experience with recognizing and sharing his sexuality and is able to portray this in his character formation flawlessly.
This novel also did a really good job when assessed using the ten criteria of the Image and Encounters Profile. This novel definitely promoted empathy and acceptance. It also has a shiny happy ending, which may not come across as overtly realistic, yet it emphasizes success through finding and accepting yourself for who you are. This is an extremely important message for all teens, yet could be an even more powerful message for a teen who is dealing with a mental illness or depression. I think that Jeff is an extremely realistic character and although the novel begins with a 'disability focused' mentality towards characters, Ford breaks this down through out the novel and readers see characters for who they are rather than solely their mental illness.
The only possible issue I found within this book was the fact that at times it was often explicit. This can be said not only about the language but in regards to content as well. There is heavy cursing and subject matter floats from drugs, to sex, and at times masturbation. Yet I found this to be authentic in the fact that it is written about a teenage boy, the audience would just need to be of an older age group and mature enough to handle such content.
The ten criteria are:
- Promotes empathy not pity.
- Depicts acceptance not ridicule.
- Emphasizes success rather than, or in addition, to failure.
- Promotes positive images of persons with disabilities or illness.
- Assists children in gaining accurate understanding of the disability or illness.
- Demonstrates respect for persons with disabilities or illness.
- Promotes attitude of "one of us" not "one of them."
- Uses language which stresses person first, disability second philosophy, i.e. Jody who is blind.
- Describes the disability or person with disabilities or illness as realistic (i.e., not subhuman or superhuman.)
- Illustrates characters in a realistic manner.