Suicide in Mind

Virginia Woolf, Cesare Pavese, Sarah Kane, Ernest Hemingway, Anne Sexton, Thomas Lovell Beddoes, Sylvia Plath, Hunter S. Thompson. Eight remarkable writers of international acclaim with at least one thing in common ? they all committed suicide. Research in the UK and USA has established that suicidal thoughts are more prevalent in writers than any other profession. But what causes writers with suicide in mind to take the deadly step of committing the act? Taking each of these eight writers in turn, Arthur Lawrence reviews their lives and works and puts them under the microscope for some forensic detective work. The results are both intriguing and revealing. The usual suspects ? drink, drugs, sex and depression ? suggest themselves. As does a common thread of intense creativity and, once the well is dry, a paralysing lack of purpose leading to existential angst. Get beneath the skin of eight of the world's most influential and controversial creative minds as Arthur Lawrence invites you to discover how, why and with what far reaching consequences these literary greats had suicide in mind?