This completely revised and updated 2nd edition of the award-winning Dead Serious, first published thirty years ago (Atheneum/Avon) with sales of over 90,000 copies, covers new ground:  bullying, social media, LGBTQ teens, suicide prevention programs, and more.  Scores of teens share their stories that are often filled with hurt, disappointment, shame—yet often hope.  Written for teens, adults and educators, Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Suicide explores the current cultural and social landscape and how the pressure-filled lives of today’s teens can lead to anxiety, depression—suicide.  

Leder’s own journey of discovery after her brother’s suicide informs her goal of helping to prevent teen suicide by empowering teens who are suffering and teens who can serve as peer leaders and connectors to trusted adults.  The skyrocketing number of teens who take their own lives that reached a 40-year high in 2015 makes Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Suicide more relevant and important than ever.