Sibling Suicide: Journey from Despair to Hope

By: Nathan S. Wagner MA LPC

Narrated by: Kaeomakana Tiwanak

Nate Wagner faced despair in his early 20s. After the loss of his only brother to suicide, Nate struggled to find hope, reimagine his life, and achieve a new normal. As he slowly found a path through sorrow and discovered constructive ways to deal with his grief, he also discovered two new vocations: first a counselor and then a writer.

Drawing on his clinical training and work and his own life experience, Nate shares his story with listeners, offering practical suggestions and honest reflections to invite the listener into his journey from despair to hope. Made for those who have experienced sibling suicide.

Please note: This audiobook is not a "how to" but rather one perspective of what worked for Nate. There are parts of this audiobook that repeat on purpose (for emphasis).

Foreword authored by Kevin Briggs.

©2016 Nathan Scott Wagner (P)2018 Nathan Scott Wagner

Glad I found this! Sibling Suicide is not talked about enough.

The meat & potatoes of this book, is spot on. All the feelings about losing a sibling & the “I wish”/“what if’s” hit harder than other losses..I know, I’ve lost 4 other people in my life just to suicide. It’s hard to fully review or break down the book, because it is obviously an extremely personal story to be told.

With that being said, I was not a fan of the audiobook. I was expecting to feel some kind of overwhelming grief at some point, but I did not & I unfortunately contribute it to the narrator. Don’t get me wrong, they did a phenomenal job overall. I just wish that there was some feeling that the narrator also felt & understood what Wagner was writing.

I would 100% recommend the physical book to fellow sibling suicide loss survivors.

Repeat Repeat Repeat

I was looking for something deep and personal a story to make me feel, I am fortunate enough to not be in this kind of situation but looking for books to listen to while at work this was just boring and the author just repeats himself over and over the first 10 minutes you can tell that this story will repeat I don't know much about writing but isn't there a rule to repeating? I think the only thing that saves this book is how the narrator read it he kept me listening even when I was BORED out of my mind too bad I looked at his page and found out this was his only book hopefully he will get some better books to read in the future I wish him luck.

Not Only for Survivors of Suicide

Get beyond the adolescent-sounding voice of the narrator, you'll hear the story of a man surviving the suicide of his brother. The author descibes what was an unremarkable sibling relationship through the shocking news of his brother's death to his overcoming the tragedy. As with the loss of most people we know, the death was unexpected. His struggle to process the loss of his brother's death stresses the importance of a relationship with God, supportive friends, and uplifting activities.

The coping strategies employed by the author are transferrable to anyone who's grieving the death of a loved one. Therefore, if the listener is seeking insight into how to survive the loss of someone close to you, no matter the circumstance, I recommend this book.