A Slender Thread
The short story “A Slender Thread” by Diane Ackerman is a very interesting story. This is an absolutely wonderful story that perfectly mixes the dark times of human crisis with the beautiful natural world, and seems to create a deep dynamic and extensive view of the nature of humans and our undoubtable links with the selves we have forgotten. Mostly about suicide, it talks about a telephone operator for a hotline for people who are contemplating ending their life. I think being a counselor is one of the hardest and well respected jobs there is. You’re basically a hero, not in all aspects, but you could be saving someone’s life in the end. Ackerman used death as a choice, and mentioned that she could not ultimately stop Louise from dying, but that she would do everything in her power to keep that from being so. She had many problems, including she was “lonelier than life” and now that her kids were teenagers she had no point in life. She used to love meeting people and interacting, something she doesn’t get nowadays as she works behind a desk on a computer. “It was the only one I could find” narrowing her choices to the bare minimum and basically giving up. She states that she believes no one would take a middle aged woman, and after finding out she was hospitalized, options got even slimmer. At one point Louise asks her to promise that she wouldn’t send the police. Ackerman replied with, “I’ll promise you that if you promise not to give me a reason to do so?” I felt like at that point it was already rightful to call. If you have to say something about it, it’s most likely going to be a problem. She ...
