Safer Memorialization

Abstract

Abstract This chapter tackles the serious concerns about mass memorializing people who have died by suicide. It looks into a community’s ability to effectively engage in postvention. In Poplar Grove, the dense social networks that draw community members into each other’s lives also draw them together in the wake of tragedy. However, one of the concerns lies in the fact that memorials may inadvertently glorify or romanticize suicide as an option, sending confusing messages about suicide. The chapter discusses the benefits of social inoculation of youth against suicide by openly talking about the pain of grieving and suicide at the memorial.