I am a big fan of Kate Bornstein’s work, so naturally I was thrilled to see ze had written a new book about suicide. Having been suicidal myself and having known people who have killed themselves, I was eager to see how Bornstein would tackle the subject.

“Hello, Cruel World” is aimed at teenagers and lists 101 alternatives to killing yourself. While it sounds like a good premise, I’m not sure how effective this book would be in the hands of a teenager, or even an adult, who was considering taking their own life.

Most of the suggestions are very cerebral, even academic, requiring a large amount of reflection and theorizing. I can say from experience, the last thing a suicidal teen wants to do is reflect on their situation or anyone else’s. Most of the alternatives to suicide require an amount of motivation that most suicidal people can’t muster. If they could, they wouldn’t be suicidal.

So, even though Kate’s suggestions are fun and could probably help someone who wasn’t feeling suicidal, I think ze was a bit misguided in thinking most suicidal teens could summon the motivation to undertake any of hir suggestions. Committing suicide is much easier than most of the excersises in this book.

A good read, but that’s about it.