Ask Alice: On the Topic of Suicide

Suicide affects millions of Americans; it will affect nearly all of us directly or indirectly through the course of our lifetime. Our teens desperately for need for the adults in their lives to be equipped to share Biblical truth and hope whenever the topic comes up. We highly recommend Randy Alcorn’s beautiful piece, Suicide, Heaven, and Jesus- the Final Answer to Our Sorrow. Prompted by the recent suicide of beloved young pastor Jarrid Wilson, this article offers biblical consolation and hope for those grieving a suicide as well as those suffering from suicidal thoughts. Alcorn also links other resources you may find helpful, including biblical counselor Dave Powlison’s helpful booklet, Grieving a Suicide: Help for the Aftershock.

In the podcast Alice recommends the resources at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; click here.

We also encourage you to check out youth ministry leader Walt Mueller’s articles: Adolescent Suicide: Number, Prayer, and a Helpful Handout… as well as Responding to Kids Who “Can’t Handle This Sucky World Any Longer.”

Resources from Rooted:

Alice Churnock’s extremely helpful article: If My Dad Loved Me, Why Did He Commit Suicide?

Articles about Thirteen Reasons Why, the Netflix series Alice references on the podcast.

Thirteen Reasons Why We Need to Have Conversations With Our Kids by Kristen Hatton

Hope This Helps: Responding to Thirteen Reasons Why by Charlotte Getz

For the issue of self-harm, which Alice discusses but differentiates from the desire to commit suicide, please see:

Understanding Self-Injury by Liz Edrington

A Call to Incarnational Ministry in the Face of Teen Self-Harm by Taylor Mendoza

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.