The Suicide Council is a work of speculative fiction that draws on Émile Durkheim’s four categories of suicide and imagines a heavenly council assigned to review the lives of people who die by suicide. Where did the idea for this book come from?

I was a big fan of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. When I heard news of his death, I was deeply saddened, as a mediocre guitar player watching him on MTV’s unplugged play Bowie’s Man who sold the World”, I couldn’t believe someone that creative would want to end his life, from the outside he was the envy for every musician, ANd even though he did leave a note, he did not explain what happened that led him to this. The note was mostly asking for forgiveness. I just felt there has to be a way to find out why people end their life besides the all-knowing God. I wanted to tell a story about a way to find out what happened, even if it took a lifetime. I am no longer a true believer in faith anymore. But I wanted to believe God would consider why people end their lives and not automatically go to hell. The Suicide Council was the only way a suicide victim could plead their case to be redeemed for the victim.

The novel explores suicide through very different life stories rather than a single narrative. Why did you choose an interconnected case-by-case structure for the book?

I am sad to say these were the most common reasons that people currently understand why these tragedies happen. I wanted also to show there was a way to find out why this happened. If it gave anyone hope, I succeeded in getting my point across. Do I still want to know why Kurt Cobain killed himself? Yes, but I also want to believe you might not find out till after death.

Despite dealing with difficult subject matter, the book avoids sensationalism and instead emphasizes compassion and understanding. Was striking that balance one of your biggest challenges as a writer?

It was very difficult trying to not blame mental illness. I didn’t want to give Psychiatry a debate to prove what I got wrong or challenge my view of death. The other challenge was being as sensitive as possible to tell a story that happened to a friend of mine, who told me a story in confidence.

After readers finish The Suicide Council, what conversations do you hope they’ll have about mental health, compassion, and faith?

I don’t want people to forget their loved one but to move on with their life. I want people to spend their life looking for blame or what they missed or could have done more to help this person. There is an answer, and hopefully one day they will find out the reason.

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