Monday, September 1, 2003

Suicide Discussed in Best-Selling Book

Suicide Discussed in Best-Selling Book

Over one million people commit suicide each year. An estimated seven million people are left to wonder why?

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) December 10, 2005

On a mission to change the attitudes of millions, one person at a time, Matthew D. Dovel, author, philanthropist and international suicide prevention expert spends most of his time talking with the lost, desperate and hopeless. When asked what motivates Mr. Dovel he replied, “Most people’s worst failures are marked by unseen emotional scares, but my worst failures are chiseled on marble and granite headstones forever!”

Having died twice already himself, once by drowning at the age of twelve and the other by an attempted suicide at the age of twenty-five, Mr. Dovel is very familiar with the mindset of a suicidal individual and what lay ahead after this life. Outlined in an autobiography called “My last Breath,” now a best selling life after death book, Mr. Dovel recounts his thoughts while temporarily insane as he decides to commit suicide. A chilling story, and inspirational, as he once had a thousand dollar a week drug habit, but after his attempted suicide he quit cold turkey. It has been over eighteen years since he last drank, drugged or attempted suicide, but his life hasn’t been a bed of roses just because he quit taking drugs and drinking alcohol.

“I have dedicated my life to helping those that are hopeless, and even though I have had thousands of successes, I personally have lost seven friends to suicide. Each suicide has touched me very personally, deeply affecting my life, forever changing my attitude towards others, so as a result, I now listen more closely to what people are really saying.”

Mr. Dovel, has had the honor this past October of being asked to help screen United States Army personnel headed to Iraq and to teach the warning signs of suicide to mental health professionals and Chaplins. Talking with thousands over a two day period at Fort Benning, GA, Mr. Dovel used a unique style of teaching suicide prevention that combines the very serious nature of his topic with humor. Reassuring his audience that everyone will have (and has had) bad moments or a bad day and that what ever they are feeling will pass with time.

Mr. Dovel also does community interventions and just returned from one in Quebec, Canada. Mr. Dovel was summoned by the community of Ouje-Bougoumou because since April of this year, in their community of about eight hundred, they have had twenty-nine attempted suicides with two successes. One of the successes was a mother of two young children and the other was a police officer that was the father of three. Mr. Dovel’s mission was to talk with this isolated community about ways to reverse the disturbing trend of choosing suicide for a way to deal with their problems. Mr. Dovel conducted two workshops, one that focused on the youth and the other that focused on the adults. Mr. Dovel presented his rudimentary five simple steps to having better mental health: the importance of a good diet, talking with a good friend on a daily bases, having a goal list, at every age, and working on it everyday, keeping a journal to write down feelings, and limiting TV & computer use and spend more time outdoors with nature. By practicing these five simple steps a person builds a safety net protecting themselves when things in life go wrong. To read more details about these five steps and the warning signs of suicide visit Mr. Dovel’s Web Site at www. mylastbreath. com.

What’s in Mr. Dovel’s future? Well, he’s currently adopting his book into a screenplay that he was requested to write by movie producers that caught wind of his story when Mr. Dovel was being interviewed by members of the U. S. Congress. Congress was interviewing Mr. Dovel as an international suicide prevention expert to help promote the eighty-two million suicide prevention bill. The bill was passed and eighty-two million dollars was distributed to all fifty states in an effort to educate the general public as suicide is preventable. Ultimately, Mr. Dovel says, “I’m just one man, suicide prevention is my business, but to make a difference, it needs to be everyone’s. And in the mean time, anytime, anywhere that I’m needed, I’ll be there!”

To schedule an interview with Mr. Dovel, or to request a review copy of “My Last Breath,” please contact; Matthew Dovel, 1736 E. Charleston Blvd., #301, Las Vegas, NV 89104, (702) 270-4656 or (702) 743-4340, Web Site: http://www. mylastbreath. com (http://www. mylastbreath. com), email: author@mylastbreath. com

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