Peters has the main character, Daelyn, using a website entitled "Through the Light" which provides members with a private, secure, anonymous way to work out how and when they will kill themselves. Throughout the novel, there are "WTG" sections which come from the website used by Daelyn. WTG stands for "Ways to Go" and gives the method of suicide a rating for effectiveness, time needed to die, availability, pain, and a section for notes about complications and factors that may change the effectiveness, time, availability, or pain. It is frightening to think that teenagers are exposed to this novel without the oversight of their parents to help them work through this heavy content.
I became curious, and decided to do a little research on websites that help individuals commit suicide. First, I typed "I want to kill myself" into Google search. The first page of results was all suicide prevention. One I clicked on was called "Suicide Forum" and was a place where people of all ages could go to discuss their depression and suicide. However, when you read the forum rules, it states that encouraging people to kill themselves is forbidden, and those who do so will be banned from posting and responding in said forums. Great news!
Since I couldn't find anything to help me kill myself with the first search, I decided to google "Suicide how to". On the first page, I found a website called "Lost All Hope". I must say, this website is almost exactly like the website except for the chat forums. I pulled this off of their website:
Lost All Hope has no angle. The site is non-profit. It has no religious affiliation. It has no political stand point on the whys and wherefores, pros and cons, of suicide or euthanasia. It offers no advice, and has no bulletin boards, chat or forums (although does link to some). It is here as an impartial resource, to help inform you, and make whatever choice is right for you. I hope you find it of use.This is frightening! This place as all the information one would need to kill him/herself. While there is a link that has information to seek help, how many teenagers facing suicidal tendencies are going to click on this when they feel their mind has been made up? Reddit also contains chat streams of people discussing ways to kill themselves, how much they want to die, notes saying goodbye to those they love, etc. Though I couldn't find many places to support an individual's choice to commit suicide, the fact that there are places out there where one can go to get ideas is frightening. The link here, Suicide Article, is an article about people who went to obscure websites and were encouraged to kill themselves. These were adults. Imagine the impact these resources would have on an adolescent? The internet is a scary place, especially for parents trying their hardest to raise happy, well-adjusted children and who will do anything to help their children.
In my opinion, the greatest thing we can do for our children, for our students, is to encourage them, support them, and to make sure they feel valued, loved, and understood. Maybe reading By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead is a great way to start a conversation, but I will not be placing this on my classroom bookshelf because I believe this is something that parents should be aware their children are reading. I also believe there are better ways to broach the topic of suicide than this novel.
Alex, gosh the internet it such a blessing and a curse at the same time. We have the world at our fingertips which is wonderful and can be awful! I see your point about the resources mentioned in the book could spark someone in the wrong way to begin searching on their own for a site like Daelyn used. It's such a difficult balance of what to say, how to say it, and how much of it to be transparent about in discussions of YAL. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
ReplyDeleteThe part that scares me the most is having parents come after me for the literature I allow them to read. This is such a touchy subject, and I would rather be safe than sorry which is why I will not be putting this on my classroom bookshelf. I feel that if, as teachers, we are not comfortable talking about something such as suicide or eating disorders because of our lack of knowledge or tact, it would be best to avoid it or have someone who is comfortable (a guidance counselor maybe?) come in and talk to the students about these things. Taking certain trainings would be beneficial as well to familiarize ourselves with these topics and how to handle them.