A Need to Connect
A Personal Story about Suicide
By Erna Wine Maurer

"Kevin was the man of my dreams. We had a bit of an argument, just some sort of disagreement about wedding invitations or whatever, and I went to turn around and he blew his brains out, right in front of me. All I remember is waking up in the psychiatric ward, and they said that I tried to jump out of a 15-story window."

This is an honest, intimate portrait of a young woman who attempted suicide after the man she loved killed himself in her presence. As she reflects upon her experiences as both a witness to and a survivor of the suicide of a loved one, she allows viewers to share her profound grief and sadness at the loss, and at her inability to prevent or even to understand it.

Speaking directly to the viewer, she describes how, unable to come to grips with her feelings, she attempted suicide a second time. She speaks of the impulse to suicide as almost an addiction, but one which can be overcome, one day at a time, if the person is able to ask for help - and if others are there, able to provide it. This unique video will be tremendously valuable for suicide, crisis, and bereavement counselors, and for their clients, as well as for students and clinicians in psychology, social work and healthcare settings.

15 minutes
© 1999
Purchase $129.00 DVD
Order No. QA-299

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To rent or purchase this film, please visit the Icarus Films website

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