Teach Me How to Die follows a small group of strangers who gather in a New York rehearsal studio to attend a class on writing suicide notes and explore the situations that lead them to this point. What sparked the idea of a master class devoted to writing suicide notes?

The idea of placing everyone in obviously impossible circumstances is the basis of the novella. This artistic method is known as mystical realism, in which mystical elements are incorporated into a realistic picture of the world. A master class on writing suicide notes is impossible by definition. But everything that happens during it is incredibly realistic. The characters in the story don’t question how this is possible. At first, the reader might briefly think it’s a joke. But the characters’ behavior convinces the reader of the authenticity of what’s happening. We conducted a survey of audience members who had seen a production of the play of the same name Off-Broadway, asking whether such a master class was possible. The overwhelming majority answered affirmatively! For me, this meant the approach had worked. In many ways, this determined the desire to publish a novella “Teach Me How to Die” based on the play of the same name.

Each character is identified by an archetype rather than a name. What did that choice allow you to explore?

Not so much an archetype, which, as we know, provides a collective image. Rather, we analyze temperament types and personality traits characteristic of a particular profession or occupation. All people are different, but certain types have their own behavioral, responsive, and thought patterns. By replacing their first name with a nickname, the members of this temporary group presented themselves as they saw fit. Thus, some identified with their occupation—Violinist, Accountant, Poet. Others identified through self-esteem, for example, Loser. A participant whose purpose in life was to get even with those who had offended him called himself a Hunter. And someone prone to “philosophizing”—a Philosopher. In him, both his profession and a unique way of perceiving the world merged. 

The idea of suicide can occur to almost anyone at some difficult moment in their life. We exclude individuals with mental illness or those under the influence of acute traumatic circumstances or psychoactive substances. Suicide is essentially a destructive way to resolve an intrapersonal conflict. Throughout the narrative, we see how individual personality traits shape reactions to external factors, leading to hopelessness, disillusionment with life, and, consequently, a desire to leave it all behind… The encounter of a certain personality type with an obstacle to satisfying their most important needs leads to a suicidal decision. To help others, firstly, suspect the presence of such thoughts in their loved ones, and secondly, provide all possible assistance in understanding the situation, thereby offering a chance to prevent a tragic outcome. The novella presents various personality types in crisis. Suicidal tendencies are transient and ambivalent, a fact well known to psychologists. 

This means that the decision can be influenced. You just need to find the key to that part of the personality “that wants to live,” while blocking the one “that wants to die.” It’s difficult, but possible. And it’s always worth trying, because the stakes are too high – a human life. 

Suicide is handled with seriousness but without sensationalism. What boundaries did you set for yourself while writing?

In the foreword, I explain that the novella “Teach Me How to Die” is based on real events from my life. It so happened that one of my classmates was going through a difficult period of finding and accepting his gender identity, facing rejection from his family. He regularly called me late at night and shared his plans – his desire to end his life. At first, this frightened me very much, but then I realized that these were just “lingering” thoughts spoken aloud, and I started distracting him with stories about methods of suicide and the content of suicide notes. I gleaned this information from a book I accidentally bought at a street market, written by a pathologist; I think it was called “101 Ways to Take Your Own Life.” It also included examples of suicide notes with thier analysis. Quite soon, I realized that this spontaneously developed form of communication was exactly what he was ready to accept at that moment. Fortunately, the part of his personality “that wanted to live” prevailed: he is alive, healthy, successful, and quite happy with his life. 

At the very beginning of that story, I considered the conversation on such a sensitive topic to be a boundary I shouldn’t cross. Then my boundaries of what was permissible expanded, convincing me that any red line can be crossed if it helps save someone’s life. When writing the novella, I took into account the opinions of people who had such negative experiences in their families. Both for the would-be suicides themselves and their family members, despite the “sensitivity” of the topic, there is a clear understanding of the need to talk about suicide as a preventive measure.

If a reader struggling with dark thoughts picks up this book, what do you hope it offers them in that moment?

The main message of the novella is: “Share your dark thoughts, don’t keep them to yourself! You will be heard!” And a call to those around people whose world has narrowed today to the obsessive thought of ending their lives: “Don’t pass by, find the ‘right’ words, work together to find any way out of the impasse, even the most unusual and phantasmagorical ones will do!”

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