RIP Edwin S. Shneidman

I was listening to NPR the other day and they did a piece on this compassionate man.

Edwin Shneidman was the founder and pioneer of the "suicide hot-line".

He was also an atheist. In the first link below this is revealed in the segment at 3:20 in his own words.

"There's no spirit or soul. I will be dead. Get that through your thick head. I'll be dead and I "live" in my children, in my DNA, in my books, in my reputation. It's as simple as that."

Links:

• Pioneer In Study of Suicide Dies at 91 - NPR
• Edwin S. Shneidman dies at 91; pioneer in the field of suicide prevention - Los Angeles Times