Most suicide prevention efforts focus on secondary prevention – identifying and responding to people who may be at risk for suicide. This book emphasizes primary prevention – addressing conditions that contribute to people attempting to end their lives. It attempts to answer three questions: What conditions are common in the lives of people who attempt or are at risk of suicide? How does this affect how they see themselves, others, and their world? and, What can we do in our daily lives to improve these conditions? The focus is on identifying essential components of suicide and what each of us can do to prevent it. This book is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of what’s known about suicide. It’s simply one person’s perspective on common conditions that can lead to suicide and what you and I can do to prevent it. It involves restoring balance in our lives and developing a way of thinking to see ourselves, each other, and our world more clearly.