I found this quite sad, especially on how he chose to do it. His wife must be a mess. I first became aware of his work with "Infinite Jest" when I was a retailer, but I've simply not read as much of his work as I'd like. Sigh.

Unlike many people, I've actually have no problems with suicide on a moral level. Probably because I've been around enough people in chronic pain (both mental and physical) that I can empathize with why someone would chose when they want to go. Wallace's choice, though, makes me wonder if he was very distraught - and I find it very sad, assuming that this was a recent choice, that he couldn't find help another way. There are a lot of assumptions here, of course, and I doubt we'll ever know all of his reasonings behind it.

It's just tragic on every possible level, isn't it? I think everyone who appreciated his work is just wishing they could have done something for him.

Yeah, it is. I read a few articles since my earlier post and it would appear that he did suffer from chronic depression. I find that the sad part - if he wasn't in his right mind, then he most likely made a decision that he wouldn't ordinarily make.

'Course, "right mind" is very open to interpretation.