Chicago Tribune

In the wake of Kate Spade's death, looking at suicide differently

The list of warning factors for suicide reads, in part, like a catalog of everyday modern ills: lagging self-esteem, depression, loss of relationships or economic security, insomnia.

"When you look at those lists," says Eric Beeson, core faculty member at Northwestern University's Counseling@Northwestern, "it almost seems like who's not a candidate for suicide?" And yet, in the wake of highly publicized deaths by suicide like that of fashion designer Kate Spade and television personality Anthony Bourdain, our scrutiny of the act centers on a need to quickly settle on a cause and, on some level, to distance ourselves from it.

Spade's longtime friend Elyce Arons told The New York Times that when the subject of celebrity suicides came up

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune2 min read
Review: ‘Time For Doing Something Has Passed’ A Deadpan Sex Comedy
A margin in the pages of her own life so far, the thwarted 33-year-old work-in-progress played by writer-director-editor Joanna Arnow has a name (Ann), and plenty of interests, notably musicals such as “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Miserables.”
Chicago Tribune2 min read
US Dept. Of Education Launches FAFSA Support Strategy With Deadline For Federal Aid Inching Closer
The U.S. Department of Education announced additional steps on Monday to support the many students and their families who are in the process of completing the overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid after a shaky relaunch and complicated
Chicago Tribune4 min read
Michael Phillips: An Ode To Failure — Some Classic Movies Were Flops When They First Came Out
Know that phrase “the numbers don’t lie”? It’s a lie. The numbers lie constantly. With the movies, as with every creative medium in which visionaries must cross the six-way intersection of greed, exploitation, risk, reward, art and commerce, it’s a m

Related Books & Audiobooks