NovelFilter: please help me identify a novel which begins with a suicide - there is a wealthy (they have a cook & a maid) family dinner, someone leaves to go to the restroom, finds the daughter in a pool of blood. I also remember that the father continues to chew on his food as he stares in shock at the body, an uneaten ice-cream cake, and possibly that the suicide results in the narrator marrying the daughter's fiance. That's all I got - any ideas?
posted by forallmankind on May 18, 2013 - 2 answers

My distant sibling, diagnosed with bipolar some time ago (I don't know any solid details, unfortunately), fell out of touch with me for years. Now he's back in touch, but mostly just to drop dramatic texts on me ("I'm at the hospital", or, tonight, "I'm with the police, I'll call you when I'm released") and then not answer my increasingly plaintive texts or phone calls. I haven't been the prime target of this sort of thing before, what seems to be big swings of mental illness with the hospital and sheriffs and police involved, and the person involved giving me a bit of information but then nothing. Can anyone with more experience give me some advice as to ways I might handle it? [more inside]
posted by theatro on Apr 7, 2013 - 13 answers

A friend's friend announced suicide, and we think there is a good chance she may mean it. She is in Dresden, Germany, we are in ROmania, and we cannot find a relevant emergency phone number that can be called from abroad or any other way to help. Can you help? Do you know what we could do? [more inside]
posted by miorita on Jan 15, 2013 - 10 answers

My extremely-gifted best friend halfway across the world was depressed and then recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Now she's nearly suicidal. I'm in over my head and I don't know what to do... [more inside]
posted by luciphercolors on Aug 31, 2012 - 11 answers

Where did this suicide image come from? Anyone know where this originated? [more inside]
posted by cjorgensen on May 30, 2012 - 16 answers

An acquaintance from high school recently died at the age of 22. His family decided to keep the cause of death private. Help me out here -- why would they choose to do that? [more inside]
posted by victory_laser on Feb 20, 2012 - 64 answers

I am trying to remember an elementary school book that had a teacher who gave his students an in class writing assignment about why life is worth living, but none of the students write an essay that is good enough for him, so he rides his motorcycle off a cliff the next day. [more inside]
posted by weewooweewoo on Sep 6, 2011 - 2 answers

This is a follow-up question to this question about my suicidal friend. [more inside]
posted by sucky_poppet on Jun 27, 2011 - 27 answers

Dystopian short scifi animation film seen in the last year, about a man who is the last living member of dirty, trashy spaceship / plane that seems to have been abandonned a long time ago, and finds out that he is infected by the virus that killed his entire team. Then.. [more inside]
posted by Jireel on May 28, 2011 - 5 answers

What is the best way to support a close friend that has suicidal tendencies and to handle the feelings I have about it? [more inside]
posted by sucky_poppet on May 27, 2011 - 24 answers

In the United States in the 1870s and 1880s, what would have been the practical difference between a suicide being adjudged committed during a fit of temporary insanity, and having it be part, say, of a planned suicide pact? [more inside]
posted by LucretiusJones on Dec 28, 2010 - 4 answers

I feel like a basket case. I'm 47 years old, and I've been in a 20-year same-sex relationship with another man. I felt like it would last forever. For several years, the relationship was sexless; we did all the normal couples things together - cooked, ate, washed dishes, stressed about the bills, laughed, cried, and took care of each other, but there wasn't much physical attraction any more. I've always been somewhat bisexual, and 2 or 3 years ago, I met a woman on match.com who was cute, seemed nice, and was accepting of my situation. We started dating (with the knowledge, and as far as he acted, the acceptance of my partner). At first, the two of them were sort of circling and sniffing, and I was afraid they would hate each other. As time passed, they became really good friends, and eventually they slept together, which was fine with me. (lots more blathering inside) [more inside]
posted by Death by Ugabooga on Dec 21, 2010 - 64 answers

Story ID: An aging, eminent composer decides it's time to end his life in an orderly manner. Probably from the 70's or 80's, and quite possibly in a collection of science fiction, although the only scifi element is that the story takes places in a time when the act isn't stigmatized. All clues appreciated.
posted by spasm on Aug 13, 2010 - 6 answers

This American Life filter - relatively recently, (maybe a rebroadcast?) heard part of story re man who assisted his mother to end her life and how he felt - I've searched their archives for mother and for son; can't find it. Also searched AskMefi some, too many hits. Can anyone help?
posted by judybxxx on Feb 24, 2010 - 5 answers

My brother attempted suicide. Now he's in the hospital. [more inside]
posted by Abbril on Oct 20, 2009 - 22 answers

How can I help a suicide's widow? A dear friend committed suicide yesterday. My husband and I were notified by a mutual friend because the dead man thought of my husband as a friend (one of his few, I think). His partner (they never married) is staying with some closer friends for now. My question is: What can I/we do to help her? [more inside]
posted by dbmcd on Apr 20, 2009 - 17 answers

I'm looking for information concerning a recent workplace shooting in the Maryland or DC area, resulting in the death of a police officer. [more inside]
posted by Ian A.T. on Jun 16, 2006 - 4 answers