Kevin Briggs - Guardian of the Golden Gate

As a 30-year career suicidologist, I can say without hesitation that Kevin Briggs is one of my suicide prevention heroes. As a highway patrolman on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Kevin has literally talked hundreds of suicidal people back over the railing to live another day. This life-saving work was done with no formal clinical training as Kevin relied solely on his good judgment, plain-talk, a sense of humor, and his remarkable humanity. This book shares uncommon personal and professional wisdom from a public servant who worked the Bridge offering us fresh perspectives about death and despair, challenges and opportunities, work and love, and what it means to care for others and truly be alive.

David A. Jobes , Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, The Catholic University of America
Past-President of the American Association of Suicidology

Kevin Briggs talks the talk and walks the walk. His real life personal and professional experiences helping people in distress give great insight into mental health, stress, and how to deal with lifes mental and emotional challenges. Its practical and a must-read for anyone wanting to have a better quality of life.

Ron Barr
National Network Talk Show Host

Sgt. Kevin Briggs is a man who cares for others passionately and who has the unparalleled experience to support his views on how to help those in crisis. His stories get the reader as close to the real thing as possible. As one who also has been in the position of talking to people who wanted to jump off of a bridge, I can honestly say Sgt. Briggs account is truthful, respectful, forthright, and helpful to anyone who has tried to help someone contemplating suicide.

Dr. Andrew T. Young LPC-S, NCC
Professor in Behavioral Sciences, Lubbock Christian University
SWAT Negotiator, Lubbock Police Department

In 1995, the very week I graduated with a 60-hour CACREP accredited Masters degree in Community Agency Counseling, I received a call from a 50-year-old man who attended my church. He reported he was calling to tell someone, anyone, goodbye as he was going to end his life with a shotgun. At that moment, I realized how unprepared I was to help. I would have gladly traded my diploma for the experiences and tools Kevin shares from his work as the Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge. In this book, Sgt. Briggs talks about how he saved many lives standing on the other side of the rail, with a thin apron of bridge between them and suicide. No one should die alone and in despair, and Kevin and his team developed a strong model for compassionately relating, a framework that would benefit every reader invested in helping those in severe anguish hold on.

David Covington , LPC, MBA
President & CEO, Recovery Innovations, Inc.

Guardian of the Golden Gate is a stunning portrait of courage, empathy, and the power of human compassion to save hundreds of lives. Sgt. Briggs writes with grace and humility about his experiences with suicide prevention during nearly two decades of working the Golden Gate Bridge. He also writes openly of his own battles with cancer and depression and how his struggles have deepened his ability to serve others during times of crisis. This is an intimate and haunting portrait of one of Americas most iconic places. It reveals the truth that mental illness and suicide impact people of every demographic and that these deaths are preventable. Guardian of the Golden Gate has the power to continue Briggs work of saving lives for many decades to come by making all of us better listeners [and] better gatekeepers for ourselves and others.

Meg Hutchinson
Singer/Songwriter
Gatekeeper

Kevins experience shines a bright light on a topic we have long sought to bring out of the dark. This book highlights the practical tools and skills that helped give hundreds of people a tomorrow, sharing the immense power of connections and most importantly that suicide can be prevented.

Linda Rosenberg
President & CEO, National Council for Behavioral Health

Kevin Briggs is a true American hero and a champion for mental health, first as a member of the California Highway Patrol, where he helped prevent countless suicides, and now with his passion as a mental health advocate. Kevin works diligently to help break down the stigma of mental illness, which will continue to help reduce suicide. I have had the pleasure of working with Kevin at a suicide awareness conference, and his presentation was life-changing. You will not find a more genuine and compassionate man than Kevin Briggs.

Rick Strait , MS, LPC, CRDAC, CCDP, CCGC
IDDT Program Manager/Co-Occurring Therapist
Outpatient/Co-Occurring Division
Community Counseling Center, Central Methodist University

In a crisis situation that involves life and death, a person needs honesty, sincerity, kindness, and empathy mixed together with just the right amount of each. Kevin Briggs taught me how to fine-tune the ingredients and reach people in the worst possible pivotal moment of their lives, help them grab the hope in their darkness and ask Whats your plan for tomorrow?

Jamie S. Burton
CEO, Adanta Behavioral Health Services