Book Review: Voices of Strength: Sons and Daughters of Suicide Speak Out by Judy Zionts Fox, RN, LSW, and Mia Roldan

Voices of Strength: Sons and Daughters of Suicide Speak Out, authored by Judy Zionts Fox, RN, LSW, and Mia Roldan, a special education teacher working on a degree in Social Work, is the culmination of an excellent retrospective and prospective research project undertaken by the authors over a period of 10 years.

This unique book has received outstanding reviews by this information specialist and other reviewers at the B&N web site and is also included on my web site at raskinfo.com

To document communications with children, who have survived the suicide of one or both parents, is a most special contribution to the subject of parental suicide, psychology, social work, education, nursing, criminal justice, and religious studies.

The authors are skilled at intertwining positive and negative memories of the participants in their study of a most complicated act, parental suicide. Fox and Roldan identify the on-going feelings surrounding the death of a parent and the community touched by suicide.

The personal interviews of 57 survivors of parental suicide include details of tremendous suffering. Most survivors cling to life, and attempt to begin the healing process in the aftermath of tragedy. Fox and Roldan include interviews with their own families in their inter-generational study of parental suicide.

In "Voices of Strength", survivors use their strong voices, in addition to those of Fox and Roldan, to speak out to humanity. The survivors describe the hills and valleys on the long road to recovery.

The survivors of parental suicide convey an intricate message of hope, healing, understanding, and strength on the long path to forgiveness.

"Voices of Strength: Sons and Daughter of Suicide Speak Out" includes the personal stories of participants and practical advice. I recommend this book as a "must read" for anyone touched by, or interested in the subject of suicide, or the subject of death in the family.

I envision that Fox and Roldan's work will proceed one step further and become an important publication in a collection of resources that will aid humanity in the compassionate understanding of loss and in the prevention of suicide.