◆ Acclaimed singer/songwriter Klaude Walters has lived an extraordinary life filled with great successes and even greater tragedies. She celebrates all she has learned and the path that has led her here through a visionary collaboration between the written word, poetry, art, and music.
◆ Each chapter in her life gives birth to its own song of loss, grief, and, ultimately, triumph. The child of an abusive, alcoholic father, Klaude learned at an early age that pain and neglect were just part of life. She coped with it as best she could, wearing a fake smile and lying to the world about the horrors that went on in her home. As an adult she survived multiple rapes, workplace assaults, and her own suicide attempt. The shocking suicide of her brother threw her into a tailspin, and she descended into darkness so deep she might never have found her way out of it.
◆ But the story doesn’t end there. Step-by-step she began to pull herself out of the darkness. She learned how to change her life by changing the way she thought and the way she interacted with herself and the world. She fought through two bouts with cancer, dealt with the breakups of three marriages, and finally found her way to peace, inner strength, and hope. Despite the darkness that she went through her story is a joyous one of survival and triumph in the face of unimaginable loss and adversity.
◆ Here she shares what she’s learned and the steps she took. With her words and her music, she encourages all those struggling with depression, mental health issues, and loss to find their own path to healing
What Readers Say About Suicide Kills:
★★★★★ “Gut-wrenching and captivating. Reminded me of A Million Little Pieces, a MUST read.”
★★★★★ “I couldn’t put it down. How could anyone go through so much and still see beauty in living. I felt every word.”
★★★★★ “Her pain is so raw, so real…it stays with you long after you turn the last page.”
★★★★★ “The author doesn’t hold back. Her authenticity shines through every event she describes.”
★★★★★ “Life-changing. Made me appreciate my life 100 times more. Filled me with gratitude.”
★★★★★ “I love that the book has a list of actionable tools that the reader can use to figure their own problems with. Feels like she shares her way out as much as her way in. Loved it!”
★★★★★ “I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lost their hope. This will not only feel like a lifeline, it will show you the way home. It certainly did for me. Bravo!”
Klaude Walters was born to write. She grew up in a fishing town on the Gaspé peninsula where she began writing at the age of six, transcribing the stories, poetry, and song lyrics that sprang from her fertile imagination. She is an accomplished songwriter and singer who has a rich and varied writing career. She has written songs for herself and for many artists all over Europe and North America. She is a consummate storyteller who weaves powerful emotions into everything she does.
Klaude puts one hundred percent of herself into everything she does. Now she has turned her attention to writing the stories that are most near and dear to her heart. When she's not busy writing books or music, she enjoys reading and skydiving. She lives in a small town in Ontario with her husband, Steve.
Suicide Kills is a unique read. It really begins as an autobiography and slowly branches out to self-help. However, the author has done a great job in entwining the two genres, I think this stems from how the self-help parts are part of Walters growth and thus part of her life as well. Therefore, the mix of the two elements was a good match which actually works surprisingly well.
There are some parts in the book which are tough to read. Walters has been through an uncanny amount of trauma, be her childhood trauma of an abusive and alcoholic father, rape, cancer and so much more. But what makes this book and the author stand out is how realistic her approach and thoughts are. Klaude Walters does not state that there is a magic wand and if you wave it all will go away. She does not miraculously forgive and forget her trauma, which unfortunately she has gone through a lot of. She shows, especially towards the end of the novel, how she dealt with her trauma, her survival method. Even then she is honest and mentions how she still has a rough time dealing with her suicidal thoughts.
As a reader, I could mostly relate to Walters and I think this is thanks to how sincere her tone is. Moreover, Walters is not apologetic; she seeks to be honest even if at times it can be seen as brutal honesty. She seeks authenticity which is something we should all try to do.
Personally, this book really inspired me. For me, it reiterated how as an individual I should focus on myself and seek to better myself and not get into the vicious cycle of comparing myself to others, or trying to live my life to make others happy. All in all, be authentic and life your life for no one but yourself!
An incredibly honest account of suffering as a child which permeated through to adulthood and each stage of life. Heart breaking to read of the genuine and learned positivity necessary to combat those automatic responses acquired for mental survival of awful experiences.
Whilst respecting that candidness of this account I lost some interest as it gradually became a ‘self help’ type of book albeit with a different slant. Unfortunately for me the religious build up left me outside the door. I’m sure this book will help many because of the sincerity with which it is written together with guidelines about how to achieve the sanity of optimism and benefits from adversity.
I got a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
I'm glad I read this book, it's a mix between a Biography and Self-help book with action steps that are easy to incorporate into daily life and she really wasn't telling porkies about the journaling, I've never really been big on journaling. I'm dyslexic and find writing frustrating sometimes, but I believe there's no point in reading a self-help if you're not going to try the exercises within the book. I've actually come to enjoy journaling and it's helping me sort some stuff out.
This book is honest, it is raw, inspiring and at times it was hard to read, but I would recommend this book to everyone.
I received this book from the Author via Voracious Readers for a review. This book is a Biography as well as a Self help book with information the author used to overcome depression from her childhood trauma. Written with compassion and grit to triumph over adversity. A little repetitive in places, done to express the impact these methods of self help worked for her. Interspersed with her lyrics.
I received a free e copy from Voracious Readers Only. I was interested in the book because I like biographies and self help. I, also, work in mental health. It was so interesting how Klaude turned her life around.
The book is so different from any book I have read. It is part biography, part self help, and part song lyrics.
Her journey from depression to self love is amazing. Her attitude is so positive. She suffered loss of family and loss of love. She takes you on her spiritual journey. She gives you recommendations on how you can accomplish your life's purpose.
I look forward to reading more of Klaude's books. Thank you for sharing your life with me.
This is the story of one person's journey through extreme levels of despair and heartbreak, until she emerged into the Light.
Growing up in eastern Canada, she had to deal with an alcoholic father, multiple rapes and huge feelings of invisibility and inadequacy. Since she was little, she thought about suicide, and actually tried it. Her older brother succeeded at suicide, and it sent her into an emotional tailspin. Along the way, there was sexual assault at work, the breakup of three marriages, and an abortion (at that time, she felt that she was nowhere near emotionally ready to be a mother). What finally got her to start turning her life around? The first of two bouts with cancer.
The author's top suggestion for anyone in a similar situation is to start a journal, whether on paper or on a computer. Getting those negative feelings out of your head may help to deal with them. For anyone who thinks that no one knows what they are feeling, this author has probably been there. This book is very inspirational, and almost reaches the level of Wow.
I was lucky enough to receive a free copy to read and honestly review. Despite not being familiar with the author beforehand, I was hoping to read something relatable and inspirational whilst on my own road to recovery.
The first part of the book I enjoyed the most as it was more autobiographical, but with added advice and lessons at the end of the chapter which I thought was quite a unique way to doing it. The latter parts of the book had a much heavier focus of religion and spirituality and went into a lot of depth to teach you about them. This made it feel more like a self-help book, with a bit of added personal experience. I am sure for some people this would be really helpful as it was all very well-written and well-explained, but it just isn't where I am right now.
Overall it is a very honest book which I am sure will help some people to move their lives' forwards
Suicide Kills has an arresting title. The content within is equally captivating. Defying categorisation, it is part memoir, part self-help book and part elusive, hinting at layers that will be discovered only on repeat readings. Klaude Walters presents many facets from her life experiences in an “authentic, engaged, and honest” way.
Each chapter starts with one of Klaude’s original songs. The monochromatic images underneath the lyrics bring appealing aesthetics, although the difficulty to determine some decreases their impact somewhat. Then follows a quote pertinent to the topic. This layout ensures that prior to learning of the situation which triggers the theme of each chapter, the reader has already received formidable messages of resilience.
Walters has had undeniably hard times through childhood traumas, depression, cancer, and her brother’s suicide: events which reappear through “befriending the demons, not ignoring them”. She shares her strategies for recovery at the end of each chapter. Although the themes vary the practical, achievable action steps are often the same, causing unnecessary repetition. At times they appear as the only solutions, which is off-putting, despite Walters’ repeated statement that she can speak only from her experience and what worked for her.
Klaude writes in first and second person – which can take some getting used to – and her underlying message is that “within you is the power to go from invisible to invincible”. Her messages are not new to people who have previously invested in self-improvement work. Nevertheless, they are delivered with compassion, with the everpresent intent that “YOU hold the key to your future”.
Walters has an impressive CV of public achievements, her music being easily accessible. More remarkable, however, is her wish to help others be “a true version of yourself”, because “the more you try and stifle who you truly are inside, the more the dragon wants to roar and make its way to the surface” and suppressing it leads to “dis-ease”. She emphasises that people can always choose their reactions (even if they can’t change past events) and that by loving themselves and being “accountable for their own life” everyone can become empowered. Her mission in writing this book is “to inspire others to cultivate their inner light and become beacons for others around them”, in body and in mind.
This book is best read with time and mindspace to spare, allowing the powerful messages to integrate for each individual. Walters’ words and her actions are inspiring: take the challenge to pursue “a limitless mind … expect the unexpected and believe it will happen”.