1st Edition
What Don't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger African American Women and Suicide
By Kamesha Spates
Copyright 2015
192 Pages
by
Routledge
192 Pages
by
Routledge
192 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
A close look at black women’s physical, mental, and social circumstances reveals harmful social disparities. Yet, for decades, black women’s suicide rates have remained virtually nonexistent compared to the rest of the American population, baffling social scientists. In this book, black women speak for themselves about their life struggles and their notions of suicide. Within a framework that... Read more
1 Introduction 2 Not All Peaches and Cream: Contemporary Pressures Experienced by Black Women 3 I Give All the Glory: The Role of Faith 4 Survival through Interdependence: Family, Community, and Perceptions of Suicide 5 Only the Strong Survive: Perceptions of Strength and Suffering 6 Conclusion
Biography
Dr. Kamesha Spates is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Kent State University. Her current research interests include the intersections of race, class, and gender, the African American experience, criminology, mental health, and qualitative methodologies.
"Those in the field of suicide prevention and intervention need to know some of the findings in Dr. Spates’s thought-provoking study. The many stories she shares from the women she interviewed are captivating, as we learn how their convictions give them a sense of self-worth. This book needs to be distributed widely into our communities. What a great read!”
—Donna Holland Barnes, Howard University
“The book lets thirty-three black females speak for themselves in integrating three explanations—relatively high levels of religiosity, denser social networks creating a strong sense of responsibility, and an inner sense of strength derived from a history of coping with prejudice. It deserves to become a classic in understanding race and suicide.”
—Steven Stack, Wayne State University
