WENN
Asia Argento, the girlfriend of the late Anthony Bourdain, has tweeted out a “heart-wrenching” PDF file that details all of the time Bourdain referenced suicide publicly. In total, there were 19 instances from the year 2000 to the year 2017 where Bourdain made a public comment about suicide, particularly hanging himself, or hanging himself in the shower.
The three-page piece, titled “Anthony Bourdain’s long-burning suicidal wick – in his own words”, was published in July. Argento tweeted out the link on Monday, July 16, saying that Bourdain had never discussed this “obsession” with her.
The first time Bourdain mentioned suicide was back in 2000 and the most recent before his death was in October last year.
Bourdain, a widely beloved chef and television host, was found dead in a French hotel room at the age of 61 on Friday, June 8
https://twitter.com/AsiaArgento/status/1018859200271831040
The article concludes rather somberly, wondering why we (the public) were surprised at Bourdain’s passing and if there was more we could have done:
Taken as a whole, these narrative threads reveal a sobering portrait of Anthony Bourdain’s state of mind in the months preceding his suicide. And across the course of his long journey to Kaysersberg, France, he was brutally honest and open about the demons that haunted him, his conviction that they stemmed from a character flaw beyond the reach of therapeutic remedies, and his preoccupation with hanging himself in the shower as a final solution to his suffering. In the end, Anthony Bourdain left behind only 2 unanswered questions when he entered his lonely hotel room for the last time on June 7.
The more obvious question, in the absence of a suicide note, concerns the triggering event that led Bourdain to finally act on his suicidal thoughts. Within the context of the current national dialog about suicide prevention, however, the more important question is why were we so surprised when he did?
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org
