Note: I was given a review copy of this book. However, all opinions are my own.
Bean was devastated by her brother’s suicide. She and Sam were inseparable and Bean had a hard time understanding why he would do something like that.
Sam wasn’t in to drugs. He wasn’t into violent video games or any electronics, for that matter. He hated guns and hunting. He was a kind, gentle soul who was fascinated with the Inuits, the indigenous people in the Arctic.
So why did he commit suicide? Bean just couldn’t wrap her head around it.
After Sam died, Bean kept seeing a wolf on a near-by island. Wolves were Sam’s major totem animal. (A totem animal is one that is with a person for lifetime, both in the physical and spiritual world.) Did Sam reincarnate into the wolf that Bean kept seeing? (Toward the end of the book, the wolf comes to a shaman ritual that Bean holds . . . )
In her heart, Bean felt compelled to uncover clues that might lead her to a better understanding of Sam’s death. And with the help of her best friend, Julie, she was going to do just that!
In Winter of the Wolf by Martha Hunt Handler, readers learn about the beliefs of the Inuits. Of how death is merely the separation of the soul and the material body and that the soul continues to live after a person dies. Of how Inuit burial beliefs are more ‘one’ with nature.
Since this book deals with suicide, lots of questions about life and death are presented. Spiritual beliefs are discussed. Learning how deal with and accept suicide are part of the book’s theme.
It doesn’t matter if readers do not believe in a higher power or are not spiritually minded. Readers aren’t hit over the head with the proverbial spiritual hammer. Inuit’s spiritual beliefs are gently explained so that readers can get a good insight into Sam’s beliefs. The book doesn’t try to convert you to that way of thinking. Not at all. (Which is more than I can say of some religious themed books.)
Now for a spoiler alert. Do not read any further if you don’t want to have the book’s ending ruined for you, Dear Reader.
Sam’s death was due to auto asphyxiation. This is also known as the ‘choking game,’ ‘scarf game,’ or suffocation roulette.’ Self-strangulation causes a brief euphoric state caused by cerebral hypoxia. It’s considered the ‘good kids’ drug’ because many of the deaths occur in high-achieving children.
Autoerotic asphyxiation is also part of the self-strangulation. Boys do this to get a heighten sexual arousal during masturbation.
Both types of self-strangulation are extremely dangerous. Estimates of this type of death rate is between 250 to 1000 deaths per year in the United States.
Parents need to be aware of tell-tale signs that their sons might be participating in it — purple spots usually on the neck or eyelids, neck lacerations, disorientation or confusion after time spent being alone. Parents — and kids — informed about the dangers can decrease the amount of deaths.
In The Winter of the Wolf, readers feel the tragedy of loss, of suicide, of grief, of questioning, of seeking spiritual understanding, of finally accepting the suicidal death of a loved one. And ultimately, readers get a feeling of peace and acceptance in the end.
You can get this young adult novel on Amazon for $17.
