Que­bec, is a world leader in one sad cat­e­go­ry : sui­cides. Even attempts, rife with­in the youth pop­u­la­tion, leave indeli­ble scars. Any sui­ci­dal act, com­plet­ed or attemt­ed, has many vic­tims. From the streets of Canada’s poor­est area to the iso­lat­ed north­ern Arc­tic native vil­lages over 1,000 miles north the extent of this scourge with­in Que­bec soci­ety has had one unin­tend­ed ben­e­fi­cial con­se­quence. The province’s sui­cide inter­ven­tion com­mu­ni­ty has accu­mu­lat­ed a vast repos­i­to­ry of knowl­edge and tech­niques they use on a dai­ly basis. Despair, addic­tion, lone­li­ness, loss : rea­sons for sui­ci­dal thoughts are var­ied, but Quebec’s over­worked inter­ven­ers have noticed sim­i­lar­i­ties in the tra­jec­to­ry suf­fer­ers take on their down­ward slid The com­pact, con­cise, easy-to-read Que­bec Sui­cide Pre­ven­tion Hand­book is an indis­pens­able tool for psy­chol­o­gists, social work­ers and com­mu­ni­ty work­ers. Now for the first time this book has been adapt­ed into Eng­lish. The orig­i­nal author, Ray­mond Viger, ther­a­pist, youth cen­tre oper­a­tor and com­mu­ni­ty activist, has over 25 years’ expe­ri­ence in the field.He has teamed up with Col­in McGre­gor, long-term fed­er­al inmate, life­long jour­nal­ist to pro­duce this small, handy, afford­able hand­book for social work­ers and suf­fer­ers alike. Both men have also attempt­ed the awful final act. Viger trains social work­ers at sev­er­al col­leges, includ­ing McGregor’s alma mater, McGill Uni­ver­si­ty, in sui­cide pre­ven­tion tech­niques. What is the extent of the prob­lem ? What trig­gers, warn­ing signs, should peo­ple look out for ? How do you deal with an active­ly self-destruc­tive per­son ? At what stage should spe­cif­ic help­ful acts be under­tak­en ? This guide­book demys­ti­fies the sub­ject. Charts and graphs lay out easy-to-fol­low ideas. This book is a vital resource. A sec­tion is adressed to those who have suf­fered the grief of a loved one’s suicide.