Someone in America attempts suicide once every minute and someone completes a suicide once every 17 minutes. The story Ordinary People by Judith Guest explains in detail the life of a boy who attempted suicide and how it affected everyone around him. After his brother's death he thought he could no longer life with his self. After attempting suicide Conrad was sent to a mental hospital and revived his health well enough to be sent home. Conrad went home still with “Severe Depressive Episodes [and a] High Risk of Suicide” (33 Guest). His family was devastated… his parents began to argue and fight in an unhealthy way, Beth his mother tells Calvin his father to stop caring so much and that “He’s not your little boy” (128). They started to grow