Kendramama: When my second-oldest brother hung himself in 1996, he was attending college in Eugene on a debate scholarship. My family was at first stunned, then disbelieving (my mother still struggles with the fact that it was proven suicide and not foul play), then at last, especially after the funeral, absolutely devastated by the finality of it all. Suicide is such a selfish, permanent black mark on a family, especially one that is close- as ours was, and still is. The ONLY good thing that came of it- the rest of us siblings, five of us, swore in a prayer circle a sacred (to us) oath that we would NEVER, EVER, no matter how bad things ever got, commit the act that Jared did, knowing how badly it hurt the rest of us, especially our mom.

Question: Many, like Kendra, who has first-hand experience, believes that suicide is a selfish act. Do you?