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PAGE 26 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 4. 1986
PASSOVER
is nearly upon us.
Don't miss our special
Passover issue
April 18, 1986
Call our ad dept. toda\ to
send vour greetings to the
communin.
876-8248
WEEKLY QUOTE FROM LESTER S BOOKS
“Successful relationships are not a matter of winning
or losing arguments, but are a matter of level heads
and mutual compromise."
Next Emory class Wednesday. April 9. Call 727-6000
Lester Pazol
20 YEARS
HENNESSY r (?acMhc JAGUAR
CALL FOR A TEST DRIVE 261-5700
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Singles
Shabbat
Dinner
Come and share in a traditional Shabbat experience! The
evening features a multi-course meal, services, and an
Oneg Shabbat to follow.
Dinner - 6:45 PM
^ Services - 8:15 PM
1 \|J IT • JLCr Oneg * 9:15 PM
Make your reservations immediately by sending a $ 10.00 check by
April 14, 1986 to:
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
600 Peachtree Battle Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30327
Attn: Singles Dinner
Please include your name, phone number and address.
For more information or to phone in your reservation,
call the Synagogue Office at 355-5222.
C*) <5-^6^
‘When Living Hurts’author
urges youth support system
by Vida Goldgar
The proliferation of “how to”
books in recent years almost al
ways make extravagant promises
of a better life.
Sol Gordon’s book makes no
promises and its goal is life itself.
"When Living Hurts.” published
bv the Yad Tikvah Foundation of
the linion of American Hebrew
Congregations' Task Force on
Youth Suicide, is a book for teen
agers and young adults who want
to help people who are in trouble
and for those who are themselves
lonely, depressed or suicidal.
For such a serious subject, its
style is lively reading, with a sensi
ble approach to the very real prob
lems that plague young people.
Very quickly, Gordon dismisses
the advice given in most other
“how to” books like:
Not to worry. (When's the last
time someone told you not to
worry and you stopped?)
Not to feel guilty. (If you’ve
done something wrong, why shouldn’t
you feel guilty?)
That vou can he anything you
k-—: - ~ (
want to he. (You should live so
long.)
His advice to people who are
really feeling bad or even suicidal is
to confide in someone, even if cer
tain at first that they won’t under
stand. Much of the book is geared
to telling people how to recognize
the signals and how to respond.
On a recent visit to Atlanta, not
long after his UAHC colleague,
Rabbi Daniel Syme, spoke on youth
suicide at an Emory forum spon
sored by the Reform Jewish Stu
dents Committee, Dr. Gordon was
interviewed. He reinforced Rabbi
Syme’s message. “We (adults) have
to help young people who want to
help their friends. People who are
depressed and suicidal are not
likely to tell their parents,’’ Gordon
said, adding that “it is no panacea
to think of psychiatric treatment;
most suicides are already in psy
chiatric treatment.”
His strong belief is that “there is
no substitute for a support system
and people who care about you,”
and he says “We somehow have to
get across the message that even if
you are told confidentially, it is
better to lose a friend than lose a
life.” “When L.iving Hurts” also
emphasizes that point and zeros in
on problems to which young peo
ple are especially vulnerable, with
chapters on “Sex and love worries
and facts;” “God concerns;” “If
you are not getting along with your
parents” and “What is the purpose
of life?”
Dr. Gordon, director of the Insti
tute for Family Research and Edu
cation at Syracuse University, has
written many books, including sev
eral specifically addressing youth.
He has appeared on the Today
Show, the Phil Donahue Show
and Sixty Minutes.
Though he says there are many
causes for the rise in youth suicide,
Gordon says people need to rethink
their image of the potential suicide.
Without by any means overlook
ing the isolated, lonely or de
pressed person, a more character
istic statement these days, he says,
is “He or she had everything going
for him (or her).” He called “suc
cess pressure” a very big factor and
said it “operates in an insidious
way with kids who are perfec
tionists.”
He blames the societal trend
toward “the instant fix; instant
gratification. If we’re disappoint
ed, we get a drink, or a pill or have
sex.” And, he says, Jewish kids are
vulnerable like everybody else.
He believes firmly that there is a
community responsibility to help
create peer groups who are alert to
symptoms and know what to do
and to create suicide prevention
programs for professionals as well
as lay programs that focus on
depression and boredom. “Every
school should have a core group of
students who are alert to signs of
someone moving in this direction.”
It is not enough to have one pro
gram and feel as if we have done
our job. he says.
Dr. Gordon’s book, “When Liv
ing Hurts,” is available in the li
braries of Temple Sinai, The Tem
ple and Temple Emanu-F.l and can
be purchased through their gift-
shops.
\
Sleep Late On Sunday.
There’s no need to rush — the Sheraton Brunch
is waiting for you.
The coffee is hot, the food is delicious, and
the hour is civilized.
The nicest Sundays start with brunch at Monty’s
in the Sheraton Century Center Hotel.
Hours: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
Adults $12.95
Children under 12 $7.95
Children under 5 Free
For Reservations call:
325-0000
Sheraton
Century Cento’
Hotel
2000 CENTURY BOULEVARD. N E
ATLANTA. GEORGIA 404/325-0000