Overcoming the Wall of Silence Around Suicide in the Asian American Community

In 2004, Iris Chang Killed Herself
(and So Did over 29,999 Other Americans)

By Descartes Li, M.D.

With her work, Iris Chang represented a new concept of openness and honesty in the Asian American community. She deplored the denial and collective amnesia of the Japanese atrocities in Nanking during World War II. Unfortunately, mental illness remains taboo topic. But perhaps, in openly talking about suicide in general and her suicide in particular, that spirit of remembering, and of refusing to forget, will live on.

            Suicide is surprisingly common among all Americans, including Asian Americans. In the United States, more than 30,000 people commit suicide every year. Think about that number: 30,000. It’s such a large number that it’s hard to grasp. It’s greater than the total population of the town that I grew up in. It’s greater than the total student body of the college I graduated from. It’s ten times the number of people who died in terrorist attacks on September 11. In the age group of 15 to 24-year-olds, suicide is the third leading cause of death, after accidents and homicide. But 30,000 only represents the tip of the iceberg: the number of people who were successful in their attempts to commit suicide. Many more people have attempted or seriously considered suicide. In large-scale surveys, about 4 percent of the general population have made an actual suicide attempt, and about 16 percent have had thoughts about committing suicide.