Touched by Suicide by Christi Taylor-Jones delves into the very personal, yet archetypal, reasons why people choose to end their life, or think about doing so. Although depression and mental illness are often cited as motivating factors, Taylor-Jones contends that anger, shame and self-hatred are greater contributors. Anxiety and impulsivity are also implicated. Underlying the suicidal urge, however, is a deep, and often unconscious, longing to end suffering through transformation and rebirth. Lacking the ability to undergo that process symbolically leaves no choice but to enact it literally.
Taylor-Jones emphasizes the importance of the symbolic element, and points out that suffering is part of life, and to live life fully requires making meaning out of the pain we do suffer. She explores the views of suicide throughout time, from the Greeks to Christianity and later psychology. She describes the role depression, mental illness, shame, and trauma play in suicidal thinking, as well as heroic and selfless motivations behind some suicides. The book also distinguishes between conscious and unconscious suicide.
Her book, based on her own personal and professional experiences, as well as the basic tenents of C.G. Jung regarding the Self, the individuation process, and the soul, offers insight and hope to those who consider or who have attempted suicide, as well as those who seek an in-depth approach to the subject. Taylor-Jones claims that we need to transform the shame and judgment that often accompanies suicidal feelings and replace them with empathic understanding of suicide’s ultimate goal.