ANDY,

WHY DID YOU

HAVE TO GO?

from the
Foreword :

"Parents can help the court by participating in the lives of their children."

"Parents can tell the courts the histories of their children, whether one of success or failure, so that we can learn what is positive and what needs to be improved. Parents can lobby the funders, community groups and schools for programs to make a difference in the lives of children - funders are tired of hearing from the court, but they never tire of hearing from the voters."

The Honorable Maurice Portley
Presiding Judge of the
Maricopa County Juvenile Court

Joyce Gatson

About the author

from the
Preface:

"Compounding the tragedy of loss of life, suicide evokes complicated and uncomfortable reactions in most of us. Too often, we blame the victim and stigmatize the surviving family and friends. These reactions add to the survivors' burden of hurt, intensify their isolation, and shroud suicide in secrecy."

"Unfortunately, secrecy and silence diminish the accuracy and the amount of information about personas who have completed suicide - significant information that might help prevent other suicides."

David Satcher, M.D.
U.S. Surgeon General

"...every family that experiences the tragedy of suicide spends a lifetime searching for logical explanations: although research suggests no one factor."

"This book attempts to focus on one story in the increasing epidemic of adolescent suicides. And, through intimate reflections explores the issues of cause and the subsequent guilt of survivors."