I'm a grad student working on adolescent suicide. While updating my theoretical framework I ordered the book as soon as it was made available (mainly because I knew Joiner from authoring many journal articles on the subject and thus anticipated expertise and scope in his work). I was not disappointed. Joiner takes the neofite and the scholar into a different perspective on suicide: understanding and learning from empirical evidence as well as professional (and personal) experience. Clearly, a well-structured effort to destigmatize the issue of identifying warning signs and being able to intervene effectively whether your are a concerned relative or friend, for example. Nowadays, where models on suicidal behavior have long overrun mere interpretation Joiner presents with one that captures features of the suicidal process that can be translated into psychological intervention parameters and even public health policy.