Clancy Martin has tried to kill himself over ten times throughout the course of his life. But he didn't die, hid the attempt from his friends and family. In How Not to Kill Yourself, Martin chronicles his multiple suicide attempts in an intimate depiction of the mindset of someone obsessed with self-destruction. He argues that, for the vast majority of suicides, an attempt is the culmination of a host of long-standing issues. He also looks at what the history of philosophy has to say both for and against suicide, and at the experiences of those who have reached out to him to share their own struggles. The result combines memoir with critical inquiry to powerfully give voice to what for many has long been incomprehensible, while showing those presently grappling with suicidal thoughts that they are not alone, and that the desire to kill oneself-like other self-destructive desires-is almost always temporary and avoidable.