Samuel reflects on National Suicide Awareness Month in this episode titled “When the Page Gets Heavy,” remembering influential writers who died by their own hand and exploring why their losses matter—from Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath to David Foster Wallace, Hunter S. Thompson, and John Kennedy Toole.

The episode blends personal moments (the host’s anniversary and birthday), close readings of authors’ legacies, and practical discussion about warning signs of suicidal distress, the therapeutic power of writing, and how friends and readers can offer simple, compassionate presence.

It is important to me that people who feel like the world is crushing in around them and that there is no way out, know that there are options and people out there who want to help, and many of those people have been there, themselves. Please find the attached resources to help you find the help you might need. There is a resource sheet and a sheet of printable wallet cards for you.

Print these and use them freely, and understand that there is help out there and there are people who will listen.