Nearly all of us in times of desperation and fear may say "I wish I was dead." There are a few who may attempt or carry out that wish. This story is about Jonathan Smalley, a 59 year-old laid-off company executive who attempted suicide. He is confined to a suicide watch ward. He tells the stories of his fellow patients who attempted to take their own lives. Suicides transcend regions, religions, races, ethnic cultures, and classes. In the early 2000s, Russians had among the highest suicide rates in the world. In the U.S. was the 11th leading cause of death. Men do it nearly four times the rate of women representing 80 percent of all suicides. "Desperate Lives" provides insights into the suicidal mind. The narrative is based on the real life stories of patients in a Suicide Watch ward.