Asa Merritt: Breaking the Silence on Suicide and the Making of "Six Sermons"

We Should Talk About That

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This episode of We Should Talk About That focuses on an important but difficult topic - suicide prevention and awareness.
***Help is available 24 hours a day at the suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988
https://988lifeline.org/
Jessica Kidwell interviews writer ASA Merritt about his audio fiction story, "Six Sermons", which explores a church community's response to their pastor's suicide.
They have a thoughtful discussion about the complex reasons behind suicide, the desire to make sense of it, and the role that fiction portrayed sensitively can play in creating space for honest conversations. Through personal stories and insights from experts, they model openness, compassion and harm reduction strategies for listeners who may be struggling.
Resources for support:
Help is available 24 hours a day at the suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988
https://988lifeline.org/
About Asa Merritt:
A former international reporter for NPR, VICE Sports, The Guardian, and ESPN’s “30 for 30” podcast, Asa brings a compassionate documentary eye to ambitious fictional projects. His one-woman play about mass movements, True Believer, had a sold-out run in New York City. To research that piece, Asa traveled to Cairo to meet with underground performers who helped ignite the Arab Spring. For his new Audible original podcast Six Sermons, starring Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Asa spent a month embedded with a team of pastors at a Lutheran church in Cincinnati, OH. Six Sermons is dedicated to the actor and musician Caz Liske, who died by suicide in Moscow in 2017. Asa lives with his family in Mexico City.
Listen to "Six Sermons" here

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Chapters

1. Open Conversations About Suicide and Exploration (00:00:00)

2. Church Community's Influence on Suicide (00:09:24)

3. Understanding Suicide and the Need to Explore (00:15:21)

4. Suicide Representation in Fiction's Impact (00:28:07)

5. Engaging With Listeners and Seeking Support (00:39:35)