What do you think?
Rate this book
Sometimes Students Die
Losing a student to suicide is the hardest thing that any educator can face. Minho Park had an uncommon and awkward charisma that made his passing all the more painful. No amount of training or experience could prepare his advisor, Peter Cahill, to receive the letter that would ask him to help his family understand. The problem is, they live in Tokyo.
Following the death of his beloved freshman, Peter struggles to justify leaving his wife and unborn son to chase a life-long dream of travelling to Japan by veiling it behind the bequest of a boy he barely knew. What begins as an attempt to retreat becomes a soul-search for the lengths that one man will travel in the name of his own son by helping a broken family put theirs to rest.
Following the death of his beloved freshman, Peter struggles to justify leaving his wife and unborn son to chase a life-long dream of travelling to Japan by veiling it behind the bequest of a boy he barely knew. What begins as an attempt to retreat becomes a soul-search for the lengths that one man will travel in the name of his own son by helping a broken family put theirs to rest.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2016
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Andrew S. Cioffi
10 books10 followersAndrew S. Cioffi works as a disability services professional at a local university in Boston, MA. By night, though, his dreams of dragons and samurai were calling enough to start writing things down. With a passion for great stories and great mythologies, he is equally inspired by comics, graphic novels, chambara films, progressive metal, and high fantasy of all sorts. Aside from hours spent enjoying the finest teas and pipe tobaccos, Andrew is an avid archer and skeet/trap shooter. His other talents include all things cooking and eating. But his biggest inspiration comes from his family. Born in Everett, MA, and well-traveled throughout the Greater Boston area, he now lives in Malden with his wife Christina and three amazing kids.
Amazon.com author page: http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Cioffi/e...
Check out my official website for free books and sample chapters!
Check me out on Instagram @ascioffi
Amazon.com author page: http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Cioffi/e...
Check out my official website for free books and sample chapters!
Check me out on Instagram @ascioffi
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 4, 2016
SOMETIMES STUDENTS DIE is a sensitive, delicate, introspective story about an emotional subject that haunts teachers and school counselors. When the story is told from the perspective of one of those counselor/advisors, the reader expects to be on the outside looking in, but Cioffi draws the reader into Peter Cahill's world, his fears, his insecurities, his curiosities, and his loves.
Cahill, advisor to the international students at a Boston college, is subject to the same political waves that affect every school (take it from me, as a former dean myself, I understand those waves!), and he's frustrated by them. That red tape becomes all the more prevalent when the news of Cahill's student, Minho Park, has committed suicide.
Through a close first person point of view, Cioffi lets us into Cahill's world as he tries to unravel not only why Min committed suicide, but even more importantly, why did Min leave a note and request for Cahill to bring the news to Min's parents in Japan. At first, Cahill believes it's something that won't be an issue with the college, but it is.
Cahill struggles with the impropriety of visiting the student's family, talks to his wife, thinks about his soon-to-be-born child and does what a new father would do: he thinks about Min's family. And he decides to make the trip to Japan anyway. But life intervenes, and he's faced with a crisis to which he must immediately attend.
The book is quiet. No car chases, buildings burning down, aliens flying through the sky. But the emotional turmoil is so well drawn and believable that the reader is drawn in as if the book held all the climactic moments of a domestic thriller. Peter Cahill is a man divided by his instinct to be a good person and his family responsibilities. There are moments when his anxiety is so distinct that we want to reach into the story and give him a hug, pat his shoulder and tell him that what he's doing is honorable. That's it: Peter Cahill is an honorable man.
Cioffi infuses the tale with details about Japanese culture, including movies that sound exciting and food that makes your mouth water. He also writes about a marital relationship that is strong and healthy. That, in itself, is refreshing.
Cioffi's an independent author, a writer who can focus on a small story and make it big, a novelist who has made his mark by including Asian elements in each of the three books on the market, but this story -- this perspective and this point of view -- is his strongest yet. This gem of literary fiction should be on every college instructor's reading list.
Cahill, advisor to the international students at a Boston college, is subject to the same political waves that affect every school (take it from me, as a former dean myself, I understand those waves!), and he's frustrated by them. That red tape becomes all the more prevalent when the news of Cahill's student, Minho Park, has committed suicide.
Through a close first person point of view, Cioffi lets us into Cahill's world as he tries to unravel not only why Min committed suicide, but even more importantly, why did Min leave a note and request for Cahill to bring the news to Min's parents in Japan. At first, Cahill believes it's something that won't be an issue with the college, but it is.
Cahill struggles with the impropriety of visiting the student's family, talks to his wife, thinks about his soon-to-be-born child and does what a new father would do: he thinks about Min's family. And he decides to make the trip to Japan anyway. But life intervenes, and he's faced with a crisis to which he must immediately attend.
The book is quiet. No car chases, buildings burning down, aliens flying through the sky. But the emotional turmoil is so well drawn and believable that the reader is drawn in as if the book held all the climactic moments of a domestic thriller. Peter Cahill is a man divided by his instinct to be a good person and his family responsibilities. There are moments when his anxiety is so distinct that we want to reach into the story and give him a hug, pat his shoulder and tell him that what he's doing is honorable. That's it: Peter Cahill is an honorable man.
Cioffi infuses the tale with details about Japanese culture, including movies that sound exciting and food that makes your mouth water. He also writes about a marital relationship that is strong and healthy. That, in itself, is refreshing.
Cioffi's an independent author, a writer who can focus on a small story and make it big, a novelist who has made his mark by including Asian elements in each of the three books on the market, but this story -- this perspective and this point of view -- is his strongest yet. This gem of literary fiction should be on every college instructor's reading list.
November 4, 2018
Cioffi’s synopsis is spot on and leads us into the story of how the not so reluctant councilor Peter Cahill (who doesn’t speak a word of Japanese, has no passport and can’t afford the flight with a new baby on the way) ends up in Japan. There follows an unexpected break in the story when Peter has to unexpectedly return home, but the turn of events that follow fall perfectly into place.
I loved Peter’s regular conversations with his long-suffering wife, they were little succinct summaries explaining exactly what he was thinking and why. Having been a new mom on my own for weeks at a time I could really relate! As we are lead into the third and concluding part of the story they also serve as snapshots of his confusion, bewilderment, guilt and eventual realization.
I really enjoyed Cioffie’s easy writing style, natural conversation and relatable characters. With his obvious knowledge of the traditions and culture of Japan and Korea it’s easy to imagine that he too would have readily made the same decisions as Peter.
I loved Peter’s regular conversations with his long-suffering wife, they were little succinct summaries explaining exactly what he was thinking and why. Having been a new mom on my own for weeks at a time I could really relate! As we are lead into the third and concluding part of the story they also serve as snapshots of his confusion, bewilderment, guilt and eventual realization.
I really enjoyed Cioffie’s easy writing style, natural conversation and relatable characters. With his obvious knowledge of the traditions and culture of Japan and Korea it’s easy to imagine that he too would have readily made the same decisions as Peter.
July 30, 2019
This book was mentioned by an author I love so I thought I'd try it. Glad I did.
When one of Cahill's students commits suicide, he's tasked with telling the young man's parents...in Japan. That's not the only problem. The university isn't happy he's going, his pregnant wife might have the baby while he's gone and if the parents ask him why...he won't know what to tell them.
A heartfelt story that rolls sedately along.
When one of Cahill's students commits suicide, he's tasked with telling the young man's parents...in Japan. That's not the only problem. The university isn't happy he's going, his pregnant wife might have the baby while he's gone and if the parents ask him why...he won't know what to tell them.
A heartfelt story that rolls sedately along.
December 10, 2019
I was first drawn to this book by the title and its beautiful cover. I have to admit I didn’t know what to expect when I first got my hands on a copy but soon found myself drawn into this fascinating story. I loved the way the writer use the result of a terrible event to bring together different cultures in a fascinating insight into life in the Far East (Japan and South Korea). Highly recommend and truly original piece of work.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews