Featured Product – A Reason to Live

A Reason to Live

By Perry Como

A Reason to Hope
A Reason to Hold On

As a small boy in the ‘50’s my father called me the “Shadow”.   Whenever possible, you would find me by his side.  This particular afternoon we were off to see a friend of his.  When we arrived, his friend’s daughter was on their front steps doing homework and told us to “go on in, Dad’s in the kitchen”.  As we made our way to the kitchen the smell of gas surrounded us.  At the kitchen door we found my father’s friend sitting on a chair in front of the stove.  He had draped a blanket over his head and the open oven door and turned on the gas.  Dad immediately turned it off and rushed his friend outside to the front steps, much to his daughter’s horror.  At a young age the ‘Shadow’ had a very close look at suicide.

After a degree in Psychology and another in Counseling, I still don’t have answers to what I witnessed almost 55 years ago.  Throughout my life and career I have not been sequestered from the subject, but that incident from so long ago, left a bigger imprint of any other.  When asked to write a blog about a new DVD on the subject, my experience as a young boy came to mind. My thought was maybe there would be something to give me a little more to understand what was going on in that kitchen and why suicide has become the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 24.

A Reason to Live is from producers who pour their heart and soul into their work. Husband and wife team, Cynthia Salzman Mondell and Allan Mondell, who are Media Projects, Inc., have done no less with this program.  Cynthia and Allen have been making award winning docu-dramas and documentary films and videos for over 25 years. Their work explores a wide range of subjects but always with the goal of personalizing often complex social problems. This 52 minute film is no exception.

Probing deeply into the questions of suicide, A Reason to Live focuses on the more than 4,000 teenagers and young adults who succeed in taking their own lives every year.  Using a documentary style format they capture 12 penetrating personal stories of despair and hope.  As you watch the program you begin to understand depression and suicide from the individual’s perspective.  Cynthia and Allan’s goal is to educate the viewer with realistic and effective steps to treat depression and prevent suicide. But before that they explore the psychological, cultural, biological and social factors contributing to depression and suicide. With this understanding, the Mondell’s make us more effective in recognizing the danger signs, getting help and hopefully, saving lives.

Cynthia and Allen’s hope is A Reason to Live will give us a deeper understanding of depression and suicidal behavior.  After watching the film, I gained an insight and awareness of suicide the “Shadow” didn’t have and now know prevention is possible with early recognition and treatment. 

Here are some contacts:

National Suicide Prevention Life Line 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

 http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Purchase A Reason to Live at:

Program Development Associates

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?A_Reason_to_Live_DVD-pid472.html