The authors asserted the need for increased postvention efforts for suicide survivors, individuals left behind to grieve the loss of a loved one by suicide, because they have an increased risk for suicide. Indeed, Shneidman (1972) asserted that suicide postvention efforts serve the dual purpose of assisting survivors through the grief process and…

The author, a psychologist who has been specializing in end-of-life issues for over a decade, uses the death of his fiancee (Becky), following the withdrawal of a ventilator and the refusal to place her back on the machine, to discuss research and analysis of end-of-life care in the United States. After briefly discussing his own background,…