One Friday in April: A Story of Suicide and Survival
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- Create Date：2021-10-19 05:19:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Donald Antrim
- ISBN：1324005564
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Summary
As the sun lowered in the sky one Friday afternoon in April 2006， acclaimed author Donald Antrim found himself on the roof of his Brooklyn apartment building， afraid for his life。 In this moving memoir， Antrim vividly recounts what led him to the roof and what happened after he came back down: two hospitalizations， weeks of fruitless clinical trials， the terror of submitting to ECT—and the saving call from David Foster Wallace that convinced him to try it—as well as years of fitful recovery and setback。
One Friday in April reframes suicide—whether in thought or action—as an illness in its own right， a unique consequence of trauma and personal isolation， rather than the choice of a depressed person。 A necessary companion to William Styron’s classic Darkness Visible， this profound， insightful work sheds light on the tragedy and mystery of suicide， offering solace that may save lives。
One Friday in April reframes suicide—whether in thought or action—as an illness in its own right， a unique consequence of trauma and personal isolation， rather than the choice of a depressed person。 A necessary companion to William Styron’s classic Darkness Visible， this profound， insightful work sheds light on the tragedy and mystery of suicide， offering solace that may save lives。
Reviews
Nicholas Montemarano
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I've long been a fan of Antrim's short stories。 As much as I admire THE EMERALD LIGHT IN THE AIR， this new memoir， ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL， is just as powerful， albeit in a different way and in a different genre—though addressing many of the same subjects， i。e。 mental illness and suicide。 Beyond Antrim's redefining suicide as a disease—rather than， say， an act or a choice （in other words， one can suffer from suicide without actually having committed suicide）—what makes this book stand out to me is h I've long been a fan of Antrim's short stories。 As much as I admire THE EMERALD LIGHT IN THE AIR， this new memoir， ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL， is just as powerful， albeit in a different way and in a different genre—though addressing many of the same subjects， i。e。 mental illness and suicide。 Beyond Antrim's redefining suicide as a disease—rather than， say， an act or a choice （in other words， one can suffer from suicide without actually having committed suicide）—what makes this book stand out to me is how its form and style mirror its subject: Antrim's narrative mind jumps—often suddenly—from his hospitalization to his childhood to the "one Friday in April" when he almost fell to his death。 Sometimes， these leaps happen within a paragraph， from sentence to sentence， as if the narrator is lost in space and time， as if everything is always happening at once—his parents' alcoholic， violent marriage， his breakdowns， his hospitalizations。 An important book， and a work of art。 。。。more
Mildly Annoyed Rabbit
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Heard about the book from a New York Times review， which brought me to a New Yorker article written by the author。 His writing is so compelling， I bought the book。 Read it through in one sitting。 The author is a tremendous writer and has some thoughtful insights into his disease and the the challenges of living in the modern world and dealing with loneliness and isolation。
Matthew
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Antrim posits that suicide may not be rash， an impulse of the moment， but the result of alienation。 A failed struggle to live integrated with others。 His life demonstrates both massive personal violations pushing him out to the edges of society， as well as the paths taken to find his way back。 A somewhat bittersweet happy ending。 Great book。
Andrea Trenary
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Goodreads win and a hard pass。 It takes a lot for me to hate a book。 But this one managed it。 I made it 50 pages in before DNF’ing and even that was a struggle。 I wanted to DNF on page two from something he’d said that was super manipulative towards his girlfriend。 He told me no less than six times in the first few pages what he was wearing。 Super narcissistic。 This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly。 It is a book to be thrown with great force。
Susan K Perry
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This will be brief。 I think it was helpful to me to have read all of Antrim's novels before reading this wrenching memoir of his period of near-suicide。 Perhaps that is because his novels showed me how brilliant he is， and then to learn how often he was so close to ending it all。 Mental illness can be so unsettling when you find out it is part of the life of someone you know or think you know because you're a fan of their public （writing） self。 The physically painful part of it all was new to me This will be brief。 I think it was helpful to me to have read all of Antrim's novels before reading this wrenching memoir of his period of near-suicide。 Perhaps that is because his novels showed me how brilliant he is， and then to learn how often he was so close to ending it all。 Mental illness can be so unsettling when you find out it is part of the life of someone you know or think you know because you're a fan of their public （writing） self。 The physically painful part of it all was new to me。Antrim's position is that suicide and its ideation needs to be thought of and treated differently， as a mental illness， not as a carefully thought-out decision。 I don't want to shortchange his thesis， nor his beautifully written story， so I'll stop here and strongly urge anyone with any interest in the mind and psychology to read the book yourself。 。。。more
Rhonda
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I have never read anything that has painted such a vivid picture of suicide。 My heart ached for what the author endured but am glad he is currently living his best life。 While the book doesn't flow in a traditional way， it made sense。 I am so glad I won this book in a good reads drawing and am now able to share with others who may be helped by it。 I have never read anything that has painted such a vivid picture of suicide。 My heart ached for what the author endured but am glad he is currently living his best life。 While the book doesn't flow in a traditional way， it made sense。 I am so glad I won this book in a good reads drawing and am now able to share with others who may be helped by it。 。。。more
Martha Southgate
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I’ll start out by saying that I’ve been acquainted with Donald for many years and knew about his journey through hell from friends in common。 But knowing him doesn’t bias my response to the book。 It’s masterful， an incredible rethinking of suicide and depression。 It may be a paradigm shifter。
Leslie Lindsay
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A timely and topical call to action， a plea， about the changing nature of suicide， told from someone who has been 'on the brink' and back， ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL is a tender， emotional， raw， exploration of what the author posits a 'social problem。' I cannot love this book any more。 ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL （October 12， 2021， from W。W。 Norton & Co。） is profound， thought-provoking， and infused with clear-eyed examination of one's life， but the bigger issue at hand: the human condition， sigma。 Through a ra A timely and topical call to action， a plea， about the changing nature of suicide， told from someone who has been 'on the brink' and back， ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL is a tender， emotional， raw， exploration of what the author posits a 'social problem。' I cannot love this book any more。 ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL （October 12， 2021， from W。W。 Norton & Co。） is profound， thought-provoking， and infused with clear-eyed examination of one's life， but the bigger issue at hand: the human condition， sigma。 Through a raw and harrowing--yet beautiful--account of the author's suicide attempt， we are lead right onto the fire escape where he vacillated on the decision to end his life。 For a brief， but complex time， we're co-pilots with Antrim as he allows us into his suicidal state of mind， the downward spiral， the dark thoughts， his psychiatric hospitalization and recovery， the gorgeous reinvention of suicide。 I was struck and in awe with the way Donald Antrim reframes the stigma of suicide， how it's not merely the result of a 'depression，' which he posits is not 'near enough' but that suicide， the act of even thinking about suicide is even bigger still and stems from trauma。 This section， early in the book， resonated: "I see it [suicide] as a long illness， an illness with origins in trauma and isolation， in deprivation of touch， in violence and neglect， in the loss of home and belonging [。。。] it's etiology， it's beginning， whether early in life， or later in life， in the family or beyond， is social in nature。 I see suicide as a social disease。 I will refer to suicide， not depression。" This floored me。 It made sense。 My maternal family is rife with mental illness， this speaks to many of origins presented， at least in my family。 ONE FRIDAY IN APRIL is unsentimental but gorgeously rendered。 I found it inspiring and jarring， honest and authentic。 It's about being misunderstood， but it's also life-affirming and speaks to the human condition in a way I've yet to see。 This book is not long， but it's complex and multilayered， delving into Antrim's past， his writing life， along with touches of his future。 I felt emotionally wrung-out as a I read， but the book ends on a hopeful note。 If you or a loved one is struggling with your mental health， help is available。 A book should not take the place of qualified medical care; please， if you need assistance， seek the nearest emergency room。 You don't have to fight alone。 I was reminded， in part， of the work of Catherine Cho （INFERNO） meets Jill Bialosky's ASYLUM with a touch of THE NINTH HOUR （Alice McDermott）， Leesa Cross-Smith's THIS CLOSE TO OKAY， Kathryn Craft's THE FAR END OF HAPPY and Elizabeth Brundage's THE VANISHING POINT。 For all my reviews， including author interviews， please visit: www。leslielindsay。com|Always with a Book。 Special thanks to Norton Publishing for this review copy。 All thoughts are my own。 。。。more
Pj
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I simply cannot wait for this book。 It’s getting my five-star rating now， despite its October publication date。 For anyone else on tetherhooks over this book， I’d suggest reading or re-reading Antrim’s New Yorker piece， Everywhere and Nowhere: A Journey Through Suicide。 It blew me away and left me hoping to read much more of his story。 Fortunately， it’s almost here。
Nona
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“Can we say whether our brains control our bodies， or whether our bodies inform our brains？ Does my heart pound in anxiety， or am I anxious because my heart is pounding？” Author Donald Antrim brings us along on his complicated and difficult journey through his illness， suicide。 He was supported and received the treatments he needed as he begged for help with his symptoms， aware that he was not well。 His memoir of his closeness to suicide and the importance of empathy and the connection we have w “Can we say whether our brains control our bodies， or whether our bodies inform our brains？ Does my heart pound in anxiety， or am I anxious because my heart is pounding？” Author Donald Antrim brings us along on his complicated and difficult journey through his illness， suicide。 He was supported and received the treatments he needed as he begged for help with his symptoms， aware that he was not well。 His memoir of his closeness to suicide and the importance of empathy and the connection we have with one another from birth throughout our lives is unsettling， yet hopeful and thought-provoking。 。。。more
Vincent Scarpa
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