Ray Comfort - The Final Curtain: Fame, Fortune, & Futile Lives

First printing: October 2018

Copyright 2018 by Ray Comfort. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write:

New Leaf Press, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638

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ISBN: 978-0-89221-761-8

Library of Con gress Number: 2018955417

Cover by Diana Bogardus

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Scripture quotations noted ESV are from the English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted (TLB) are from The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Dedicated to Frank and Charri Sutherlin

Contents

Chapter 1

The Depressed Celebrity

F or many, its only the death of a celebrity that reminds them that we all have an appointment. But passing is more common than most think. Since you picked up this book, over 100 people left this life. Every hour, 6,000 move out of the land of the living. Every day, 150,000 breathe their last, and every year a whopping 54 million human beings kick the bucket. They die. Its kind of depressing if you think about it.

Some die quickly in car accidents. Some die slowly as they reluctantly yield to diseases like cancer. Some go in their sleep. Others die drugged beyond consciousness, while others go not so quietly, in the face of our greatest fear the fear of death. Whatever the case, like it or not, we are all part of the ultimate statistic: ten out of ten die.

But when any human being takes his or her life, its a double tragedy. Double because a life is not only lost but the loss brings unspeakable and endless pain to friends and loved ones who are left with grief and a sense of guilt that doesnt go away. Author Jeannette Walls said, When people kill themselves, they think theyre ending the pain, but all theyre doing is passing it on to those they leave behind.

The suicides that happen daily rarely make national news. But when a celebrity commits suicide, its international news. It hits the headlines because, in one sense, it doesnt make sense. Riches, success, and fame dont add up to suicide. They dont even add up to depression. But depression is undoubtedly the fast lane on the highway that so often leads to the place of self-destruction. Here are just some of the celebrities who tragically took their own lives:

Anthony Bourdain, age 61. Anthony, chef and best known for his show No Reservations, died from suicide on June 8, 2018.

Kate Spade, age 55. Kate Spade was an iconic fashion designer and mother who died by hanging in her Manhattan, New York, apartment on June 5, 2018.

Chester Bennington, age 41. Chester Bennington was the lead singer of Linkin Park and hanged himself July 20, 2017.

Chris Cornell, age 52. Chris Cornell was the lead singer of Soundgarden who died by hanging in 2017.

Aaron Hernandez, age 27. Former NFL star who died by hanging in his jail cell in 2017.

In August of 2014, ABC News asked, Whats the Deal with Comedians and Depression?

Robin Williams apparent suicide has put a spotlight on the dark side of comedy. Williams, like many comedians, lived with long-term depression and addiction. Experts say these mental illnesses are no laughing matter.

He is certainly not the only comedian who has ever lived with depression and addiction. Comedian Marc Maron has spoken publicly about having severe depression. So has stand-up comedian Jim Norton. John Belushi, Chris Farley and Greg Giraldo all died of drug overdoses. And in 2007, Richard Jeni committed suicide by shooting himself in the face.

How could any successful famous person who is rolling in money and surrounded by adoring fans be depressed? Happiness comes from what happens to us and if good things are happening, we should be happy. So why the depression? That is understandably the question that the fans, experts, and the celebrities ask themselves. Why?

And so, mystified doctors call it clinical depression. It must be an abnormality that can be treated by drugs to bring normality. Its not rational, so it must be a mental disorder something that is happening in the brain that has yet to be understood.

Doctors and other experts not only dont understand it, they dont know what causes it:

Its not known exactly what causes depression.

It is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

What Causes Major Depressive Disorder? The exact cause of MDD isnt known.

What are the possible causes of clinical depression? The fact is, despite decades of research into this question, scientists at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and research universities around the world still dont really know the cause of depression.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that one in every ten American adults admit to fighting depression.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 6.7 percent of American adults have MDD, or major depressive disorder, during an average year. It effects as many as 23 million Americans every year, and is called a most common serious brain disease in the United States. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 350 million people have depression throughout the world.

Australia is one of the best places to live on this fair earth. They have amazing animals, beautiful beaches, an excellent climate, and friendly people. Yet there is an epidemic of depression that is skyrocketing the suicide rate:

Suicide is the most common cause of death in Australians aged 1544 years. Australian young people are more likely to take their own life than die from motor vehicle accidents or skin cancer. Every year 400,000 Australians experience suicidal thoughts, 65,000 make suicide attempts, 35,000 are admitted to hospital for suicide-related injuries and 2,500 die.

The United States has the same dilemma:

Every forty seconds, someone commits suicide. In the United States, it is the tenth most common cause of death in people over ten years of age, far more common than death by homicide or aneurysm or AIDS. Nearly half a million Americans are taken to the hospital every year because of suicide attempts. One in five people with major depression will make such an attempt; there are approximately sixteen non-lethal attempts for every lethal one. The rate of suicide is going up, especially among middle-aged men.

Time magazine said,

Treating depression is a major challenge, since among the millions of people affected worldwide, only one in five tends to respond well to antidepressants. And for many people who are eventually helped by drugs, it can take months, even years of cycling through the various medications to find the one that works best. In the meantime, their depression persists, and sometimes worsens.