Kurt Vonnegut’s life was shaped and molded by war and deep personal struggle. His experiences in life likely would have led him to believe suicide was a global epidemic, rooted in human suffering and emotional scars people carry from trauma. Kurt Vonnegut was an American author known for his work writing dark humor novels that blended science fiction, comedy, and satire or absurdism. Vonnegut served in World War 2 and was a prisoner of war during the bombing of Dresden, which likely had a heavy impact on his life and work. Vonnegut was a depressed and suicidal atheist who was addicted to drugs. Kurt Vonnegut would have believed suicide was a major problem and needed to be stopped.

     Kurt Vonnegut’s early life was filled with adversity, he had many traumatic experiences that led him down the road to depression and drugs. When Vonnegut was still in school, his father’s business collapsed, losing his childhood home, forcing him to leave private school, and leaving his mother addicted to drugs and alcohol “The fortunes of the family changed dramatically during the Depression when Kurt Sr. saw his architectural business disappear. He had to sell the family home and take young Kurt out of private school” (Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library,  n.d., p. 3). According to the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, Vonnegut’s addiction to drugs and alcohol started from his parents' behavior, “Kurt Jr.’s lifelong pessimism clearly had its roots in his parents’ despairing response to being blindsided by the Depression.” (Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, n.d., p. 4). Seeing his parents go through the depression and living through it himself changed the way he thought and acted forever. He became predisposed to drugs, alcohol, and depression, making it much easier for him to get drawn into and become addicted to them.

     If living through the Great Depression and watching his family fall apart wasn’t enough, Kurt Vonnegut faced one of the worst tragedies a young man can bear. At just 21 years old, Kurt Vonnegut’s mother overdosed on drugs and killed herself, “The decline of his father’s fortunes meant adjustments to their lives that Vonnegut’s mother could not tolerate; she committed suicide in 1944” (Indiana University Lilly Library, n.d., p. 1). This devastating loss came at a time when he was already struggling to find stability in his own life. At the young age of 21, Kurt Vonnegut had already endured more trauma and hardship than many people twice his age, shaping his perspective on life in profound ways. Losing a parent is extremely challenging, not to mention experiencing this event at such a young age, when emotional support and guidance are still deeply needed. This tragedy likely left a lasting impact on Vonnegut, influencing both his worldview and his later writing.

     After only three months since his mother's death, Vonnegut and his fellow soldiers in the 106th Infantry Division were deployed by the United States Army into World War II, flipping Vonnegut’s life upside down “A few months after his mother’s death, Vonnegut’s army unit, the 106th Infantry Division, was shipped overseas to fight in World War Two” (College of Charleston, n.d., p. 4). Vonnegut, the rest of his division, and five battalion scouts were captured and taken prisoners of war that December. This moment marked a turning point in his life, as historians note, “Vonnegut, along with the five other battalion scouts in his unit and about fifty other American soldiers, was captured by the German Army in December of 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge” (College of Charleston, n.d., p. 4). Vonnegut, and the rest of the United States soldiers captured were shipped to Dresden and forced to work in a German factory. The captured soldiers faced many challenges, “That winter was one of the coldest on record, and conditions worsened for the Germans and for their prisoners as shipping was disrupting and the supply chain broke down, making it more difficult for the life-sustaining Red Cross aid to filter through to Allied POWs” (Guise, 2020, p. 5). Witnessing destruction, death, and prolonged fear could have contributed to feelings of hopelessness and psychological distress that are often linked to suicidal thoughts.

     There are many factors that influence suicidal thoughts, many things can help cause individuals to start experiencing these thoughts. Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are all things that heavily increase the likelihood of a person developing suicidal thoughts, Most suicides are related to psychiatric disease, with depression, substance use disorders, and psychosis being the most relevant risk factors [1]. However, anxiety, personality-, eating-, and trauma-related disorders, as well as organic mental disorders, also contribute” (Brådvik, 2018, p. 1). These factors are all things that Kurt Vonnegut developed from the years of trauma he endured. Following in his mother's footsteps, Kurt Vonnegut attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills and alcohol, “Vonnegut attempted suicide by ingesting a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol” (College of Charleston, n.d., p. 11). Later, he wrote a book about his own experiences with mental health and suicide as well as his family member’s experiences, “After his recovery, he would write and speak frankly about the mental problems affecting his mother and son Mark, and about his own depression” (College of Charleston, n.d., p. 5). After experiencing his mother’s death and the attempt on his own life, Kurt Vonnegut chose to open up and write about mental health struggles. He chose to spread awareness of this global epidemic and do his part to stop it.

     Absurdism is a philosophical theory that believes human beings want a purpose in life, while the universe has no meaning. Absurdism states that humans crave a reason to exist, a reason to go on living, but there is no meaning to life, and we are simply left to face reality without a grand purpose “Absurdism (with a capital ‘A’) is a deeply layered philosophy and genre of fiction that attempts to parse out the reactions humans have when they come to feel that life has no inherent meaning” (Gunson-McComb, 2019, p. 1). Absurdism believes that we are to create our own meaning and to decide what matters to us. Kurt Vonnegut was widely believed to be an absurdist author. One of Vonnegut’s most notable pieces is his book Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut (1969). Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut (1969), is a book about a soldier in World War II who was a prisoner of war during the bombing of Dresden, which is extremely similar to Vonnegut’s own experience in World War II. It connects Vonnegut’s own experiences in war and shows how traumatizing events can make life feel random, chaotic, and without meaning. With all of the traumatizing events Vonnegut has been through, it’s no wonder he felt as if life held no meaning. 

     The absurdist author Kurt Vonnegut was a depressed and suicidal atheist who was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Vonnegut would believe that suicide is a global epidemic and one of the worst things that can happen to a person. Vonnegut went through many traumatic experiences in his life. He lived through the depression, his mother killed herself, he was a prisoner of war during the bombing of Dresden, and he even tried to take his own life. Traumatic events can help create feelings of loneliness, depression, and hopelessness. Suicidal thoughts are not random, they stem from these feelings. People who feel lonely, depressed, or hopeless want a way out. Some people who feel this way start thinking the only way to escape these feelings is to end their lives. Kurt Vonnegut experienced some of the most traumatic experiences a person can handle. He knows firsthand that these thoughts can get out of control and tries to help spread awareness through his own writing. Kurt Vonnegut believed that suicide is a global epidemic that needed to be stopped. Ultimately, his life and work serve as a powerful reminder that understanding and addressing these struggles is essential to preventing others from reaching that same breaking point.