Slog - Comments on David Foster Wallace's Last Days http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days Speaking of David Foster Wallace (with reference to the link Jen posted earlier): This piece of reporting about his final days is hard to read. The analysis is generic but the stuff his family offers up to the Salon reporter is horrifying: crippling anxiety, hospitalization, electro-convulsive therapy treatments. When the news first broke a lot of people in comments here on Slog were jumping in with their "analysis" about how "selfish" DFW's suicide was. Would you like to know how DFW's sister thought about it? She says: Inevitably our thought was, if only he could have held on a little... Copyright 2008 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:20:47 -0800 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:24:39 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by max solomon shock therapy actually does help some people out of catatonic depressions.

]]> max solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1155788 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1155788 Books Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:28:22 -0800 Comment by dwight moody My uncle committed suicide after a long struggle with depression. Shock therapy had helped him before but in the end...

While losing him was really hard (he was my favorite uncle and a role model for me), I understand why he did it. It was selfish, in a way. But you know what, it was selfish of me to want him to keep hanging on when every minute was misery and decades of therapy and medicine didn't work.

]]> dwight moody http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1155873 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1155873 Books Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:35:28 -0800 Comment by Dawgson @2 has it right. It's horrible for the people who survive them, but at a certain point it's more selfish of us to want to force someone in severe pain to stay alive just for us -- regardless of whether the pain is physical or emotional.

]]> Dawgson http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1156112 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1156112 Books Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:53:09 -0800 Comment by Westside forever The scary thing about DFW's suicide, for those of us who struggle with depression, is that he TRIED all the interventions. The drugs, the therapy, even the shock treatments weren't enough to hold back the dragon.

]]> Westside forever http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1156409 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1156409 Books Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:17:30 -0800 Comment by Yay, Empathy! Sure it's selfish. Can we at some point neutralize that word as it pertains to suicide?

It's selfish not to empathize with their decision. Making a big deal about how selfish it is presumes you're somehow stronger or better. You wouldn't make that decidion, right? If your reality collapsed into the exact same world view, you'd somehow whether the storm for everyone else's sake.

Shake it off, DFW! Walk it off and get back in the game. You're going to make yourself have fun enriching other people's lives again today, whether oyu want to or not. It's not about you. Having a body and a mind of your own is never about you.

Spare me the phony shock and pontificating about suicide.

I'd bet that there's going to be a wave of suicides in the millions over the next few years America keeps getting worse every morning.

Get ready to empathize!

]]> Yay, Empathy! http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1157743 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1157743 Books Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:45 -0800 Comment by John ECT probably did work but its temporary side effects like memory loss, etc. probably increased his anxiety and sent him into another tailspin. The worst thing about severe depression is how it completely removes the ability to see an end to the illness. It may be true even untreated cases tend to lift in six months to a year, but it is impossible for the victim to feel any possibility of relief ever as you would for, say, a bad cold.

]]> John http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1163413 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/david_foster_wallaces_last_days#c1163413 Books Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:24:39 -0800