But I believe the main reason a suicide attempt devastates and fascinates us is it reminds us how fragile our own hold on life is. "Here I am struggling along with my problems," Michael Simpson said, "and here's a guy who's given up. Is it possible I'm wrong in bothering so hard to try to live? Once you start discussing suicide you're asking what the grounds are for killing ourselves. The other side of that question is, 'What am I living for?' That's an ugly question for most of us because we don't usually know."