suicide

Vice’s Suicide Spread Has a Right to Exist

by Bill Brenner June 20, 2013 Mental health

Vice magazine created a shitstorm by publishing a photo spread of models depicted as famous female authors at the moment of their suicides. I’m all for freedom of expression and would never advocate banning such things. But as an art fan I can offer my critique: This spread was utter crap. Mood music: Vice pulled the feature down from its site after a public outcry, but the print version is still available and the magazine…  [Read More]

Mindy McCready and the ‘Celebrity Rehab’ Curse

by Bill Brenner February 19, 2013 Addiction

CNN doesn’t say so directly, but in its follow-up coverage of country singer Mindy McCready’s death, it suggests that those who appear on Celebrity Rehab are cursed. Mood music: [spotify:track:1mvEbRAlocvkJvqZIj3zHu] The report notes that McCready is the fifth Celebrity Rehab alum to die in the last two years. She follows former Alice In Chains bassist Mike Starr, Real World cast member Joey Kovar, Grease actor Jeff Conaway and Rodney King, who had been beaten by police in 1991, to the grave. McCready’s…  [Read More]

Lessons From the Hemingway Curse

by Bill Brenner January 25, 2013 Depression

I’ve always been drawn to Ernest Hemingway and his family, not because of his writings or his antics, but because of the deep stain mental illness has left on the Hemingway legacy. Mood music: [spotify:track:3dqpehdO04w6T38WB97sOF] I remember an English teacher talking about Hemingway’s 1961 suicide. The teacher suggested Hemingway was an asshole, that he was too macho to accept that he was getting too old to seek out adventure and thus gave up. I accepted…  [Read More]

Friends Of The Gifted Need To Learn Suicide Intervention Tactics

by Bill Brenner January 17, 2013 Depression

One thing I’ve learned over the years: Some super-smart, super-gifted, ahead-of-their-time people often battle with depression and eventually lose their war. So it was for my best friend who took his life 16 years ago. So it has been for far too many of my industry peers. Mood music: I’m thinking of them and for those who continue to struggle with depression daily. I’m grateful, particularly in my industry, for those who have stepped up…  [Read More]

Aaron Swartz and How to Deal With Suicide

by Bill Brenner January 14, 2013 Grief management

I read many articles this weekend about the suicide of Internet prodigy and activist Aaron Swartz. Most were about how we should view his legacy in the face of charges that he used MIT’s computers to gain illegal access to millions of scholarly papers kept by JSTOR, a subscription-only service for distributing scientific and literary journals. Mood music: [spotify:track:2UaBnTuNF4pSBHZDRhzvMy] Some call Swartz a hero who stood up for Internet freedoms. Others point out that he…  [Read More]

Putting a Face on Suicide

by Bill Brenner September 24, 2012 Depression

There’s a page on Facebook everyone should check out called Putting a Face on Suicide. It’s powerful stuff. Mood music: [spotify:track:14YR9VCoseu7zq2dx9Qr6w] Having lost a close friend to suicide, this page hits me where I live. We hear about suicide statistics all the time. We know of the famous suicides, like Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Cobain. But regular people die by their own hand every day, and their faces are easily forgotten. That’s what makes this…  [Read More]

Grief Management Put to Music

by Bill Brenner June 7, 2012 Grief management

Weeks after a loved one dies and we’ve allowed ourselves to fall apart, we have to make a choice: Stay in a fetal position, hidden from the world, or stand up and move forward. This is a little tribute to someone who made the latter choice. Mood music: [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/48842027″ iframe=”true” /] I don’t know Ian Clark very well. We’re connected on Facebook, and I’m very fond of his mom’s band, The 360s (he plays…  [Read More]

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