Lisa wrote into us about this: "Last year my sister’s husband took his own life, leaving her to raise two young children on her own with a massive mortgage to pay for. There still appears to be little or no reason why he did this which makes it even harder for my sister. We have since rallied around her and help out where we can but it still doesn’t replace what her husband offered obviously. This might seem harsh but I refuse to sugar coat it any longer, I hold a lot of anger towards my brother in law. He destroyed the lives of three people and now has them struggling to get by and god knows could face homelessness in the near future. There has been a lot of awareness over suicide recently which is great but we all need to realise this is a selfish act and one that devastates lives. Having sympathy for the person who takes their own life merely makes this acceptable. And this act should never be acceptable. My brother in law is now gone, but it’s his family who now have to pick up the pieces." Is suicide selfish? Does it serve any purpose to blame those who have taken their own life? (Samaritans Helpline 116 123)