Mike Emme, a seventeen year old drove a bright yellow "67 Ford Mustang. Mike worked really hard to restore his car. Mike being a gifted student was happy, helpful, and had a bright future. Mike being a kind man, he ordered a brand new transmission for his mustang, but he canceled it and bought two used ones from a salvage yard instead, so one of his friends could have his car up and running too. Mike was a very smart man; he learned how to remove a tracheotomy tube from his handicapped niece, he also learned how to sign to her. Mike was a great individual, but his life took a turn for the worse when his girlfriend broke up with him. She told Mike that she was engaged to someone else. One night he got into the front seat of his car and shot himself. Mike had written a note before he shot himself. The note had read, "I wish I could have learned to hate. Don't blame yourselves. Mom and dad, I love you. Remember I"ll always be with you." The note was signed, "love, Mike 11:45pm." At 11:52 Mike's parents and his brother came home seven minutes too late to save him. The above story is a summarization of the story ("For the Love of a Child" in The Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul by Thea Alexander).
Teen suicides are becoming a more common social issue than it has been in the past. Everyone knows the old saying that your teen years are the best years of your life. This saying confuses most people to question why a person would want to take their own life? Considering when a teenager hasn't lived his/her life to the fullest. "Suicides are the third leading cause of death. Teens have died from suicides more than from cancer, heart disease, HIV, AIDS, birth defects, pneumonia, stroke, and lung disease combined." (Casey, 93) "Suicidal behavior first creeps into our statistical tables at around the age of 12 and rises steadily through the teen years and beyond." (Chiles, 29) It is estimated that 30,000 people of all ages and races commit suicide yearly in the United States.