No Time to Say Goodbye

Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One

By: Carla Fine

Narrated by: Carla Fine

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Suicide would appear to be the last taboo. Even incest is now discussed freely in popular media, but the suicide of a loved one is still an act most people are unable to talk about or even admit to their closest family or friends. This is just one of the many painful and paralyzing truths that author Carla Fine discovered when her husband, a successful young physician, took his own life in December 1989. And being unable to speak openly and honestly about the cause of her pain made it all the more difficult for her to survive.

With No Time to Say Goodbye, she brings suicide survival from the darkness into light, speaking frankly about the overwhelming feelings of confusion, guilt, shame, anger, and loneliness that are shared by all survivors. Fine draws on her own experience as well as on the knowledge of counselors and mental health professionals. She offers a strong helping hand and invaluable guidance to the vast numbers of family and friends who are left behind by the more than 30,000 people who commit suicide each year. And, perhaps most important, for the first time in any book, she allows survivors to see that they are not alone in their feelings of grief and despair.

©1999 Carla Fine (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[T]his book offers hope in its summary of predictable patterns of adjustment." ( Library Journal)

Perfect for suicide survivors

If someone you know or love has committed suicide, this is the book for you. It lets you know so many things that you feel / go through, by those who have been through it already.

helpful for suicide survivors

Helpful for those who are struggling after the suicide of a loved one. helpful stories and words

Incredible insight into what it’s like to lose a loved one to suicide 

Loved the story-it was very healing for me personally after the loss of my son. However, and with no disrespect to the author, this book should be narrated by someone else. 

Helped me accept the new me

I lost my husband to suicide just over a month ago and this book helped me not get to such a dark place myself. It allowed me to relate in a world that was new to me and accept this new me that I had become.

If you've ever lost someone to suicide this is the

Some people may not be able to enjoy because of the author's voice performance, but I actually enjoyed her gritty New York accent. Her words just felt more honest and sincere, because these were her words in her voice. This book is honest and to the point, highly recommend if you've lost someone in this manner.

Good For Me

This is not a book by a therapist. the Author and Narrator is a suicide survivor. I think that this will affect and help people in a different way depending on their grief stage and time since they were left behind. I found much of this book useful and comforting.

Helped me more then I expected

I can’t remember where I seen this book title but I immediately got on audible to get it not knowing what to expect. I’m glad I did my husband hung himself 1.5 years ago. Our youngest son was 7 10 days before his 8th birthday. We just bought a beautiful home and I thought happy. We have a older son who was at the time 25 and a beautiful 1 year old grandson when he died. My husband battled with depression and substance abuse at times but was sober when he died. I’ll never know why, he didn’t leave a note. But I miss h dearly.

If You Have EVER contemplated suicide...

Read this book. If knowing the trail of horror that you will leave behind in the wake of killing yourself doesn't stop you, nothing will...

Get past the reader’s accent

At first I thought I would not be able to finish listening to this book due to the reader’s strong NY accent, but I realized she was both the author and the presenter. How brave and strong of her to be able to share her story aloud. As a person who lost two close friends to suicide in less than a month, I found the book very insightful of both my own feelings and how to comfort the surviving partners of my friends no longer with us. Thank you Carla for compassionately sharing your story and the story of others along with the grieving and healing process that goes along with it.

In Honor of Suicide Prevention Month

Where does No Time to Say Goodbye rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a difficult book to start, primarily because I knew it would be heavy and my normal choices are not heavy. I read for a love of ready and stories and thought this might be a dry listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the fact that the author, Carla Fine, read this work to us. She did a beautiful job of bringing the stigma of suicide and the very real struggle for survival after the suicide of a loved one into very clear focus. She used the stories of other survivors in a very non-hysterical way to make suicide something open for discussion.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book to anywone who has encountered suicide in their personal lives. It is a healing book.