No Images? Click here Can a Text Message Save a Life?
Hello Highliners, Before you tuck into our latest piece, you should know just how much work Jason Cherkis put into it. Because it was A LOT. We're talking years of reporting here. Years! And you can see all that effort in the story—in the depth of his knowledge, in the details he chooses, in the persuasiveness of his argument, in the vividness of the characters (you will fall in love with Jerry and be awed by Ursula). The story is a bit unusual. It's a profile not of a person, but of a tactic, the only one that has ever led to a reduction in suicide deaths. It also couldn't come at a better time. While suicide rates have been flat or declining in many industrialized countries, in the United States, they are higher than at any point since the Great Depression. Everybody, it seems, has faced the crisis in one way or another. And still, so many within the medical community seem mystified about what to do about it. What Jason describes is a method that languished in obscurity for many years, one that sounds almost impossibly simple in the face of so much pain. You'll learn the amazing origin story of the Motto approach, and you'll see how it can work in real-time, when patients are making it clear they want to die. You'll also discover how badly doctors have treated suicidal people over the years. Enraging isn't a strong enough word. Anyway, Jason has written a piece that is comprehensive while still being dramatic, hopeful while still being honest, and it'll make you believe that those terrifying suicide numbers can be reversed. Thanks for reading, P.S. While you're here, perhaps you'd enjoy reading these stories as well:
HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which explains how your data is used and shared. Learn More.Highline combines the rigor, depth and obsessiveness of the best magazine journalism with the experimentation that becomes possible when no paper or staples are involved. And our goal is simple: We want to publish stories that stay with you.Did you like reading this email? Forward it to a friend. Or sign up! Can't get enough? Check out our Morning Email or Must Reads.©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 |