ALMA LITTERA. The Book of Broken Silence

Lithuania is one of the leading countries in the world for suicide rate (30.8 suicides per 100,000 citizens). That is three times higher than the EU average. Thousands of people have experienced suicide in their family or circle of friends. While looking for professional psychological help is very much stigmatised in Lithuania, many people are still suffering, getting depressed, and committing suicide. It is unfortunately becoming a new normal and a number that everyone expects to be high, but do nothing to fix.

We had to break the silence, help people start talking about it, and look for help. We considered a book to be a simple self-help tool, and with the help of authors Elvyra Kučinskaitė and Mykolas Majauskas, 18 stories were collected from people who experienced suicide close to them. The stories contained everything, from their thoughts, feelings, pain, and strength. It turned into therapeutic reading to help others find the first steps towards professional help.

We decided to break all the rules and un-name the book. This is why its name is just a blank line _______________ making it a book without a name. It expresses the idea of an uncomfortable start to a conversation about this delicate issue. Also, it invites others to begin a conversation, express their feelings, and give the book its own name. We also published a limited-edition book sent to influencers and opinion leaders. Every story was individually wrapped so you had to literally break the silence, by tearing pages apart to read the stories.