It’s the enigma of self-destruction after a lifetime of success. It’s for parents, LGBTQ families, mental health advocates, and suicide survivors walking through grief, identity, and hope. It is a mother’s pursuit of the biggest question of humankind. Why do people kill themselves?

Marie Lisette Rimer supports her son’s gay life. She’s in awe of his achievements. Patrick Wood is a valedictorian, an AP Scholar, and a National Merit Scholarship winner with perfect SAT scores. A year after he graduates from Stanford with honors, she struggles to understand his suicide.

Rimer searches for answers through Patrick’s life, Berlin’s gay scene, and his death after rejection from a boy he wanted. She draws from Stanford psychiatrists, research, memoirs, and her own awakening to confront the painful question of why suicide? She finds answers through therapy and the science of depression to expose the hidden forces behind sadness, perfectionism, identity, and isolation. She weaves guilt and grief with evidence and understanding.

Back from Suicide is more than a story of loss. It’s the seeds of depression that lead to suicide. It’s what comes next—how we find purpose in pain and love beyond death.