Touched by Suicide is a deeply personal and in depth exploration of the suicidal impulse, one which transcends common beliefs about the primary role of mental illness as the single or sole cause. Drawing on her professional knowledge and personal experience, Taylor-Jones explains the complex conditions that lead to suicide, and argues that chronic anger, shame, self-hatred, anxiety, and impulsivity, as well as helplessness and despair, are often co-contributors. She suggests that a symbolic death-and-rebirth process is often required for healing and involves making meaning out of the suicidal impulse. 

This book is a tour of a psychological and historical nature that examines attitudes towards suicide in ancient Greece to Christianity to modern psychology. The author differentiates between suicides that are conscious suicides and suicides that are unconscious and sheds new light on heroic or selfless motives in suicides. Taylor-Jones points out that suffering is a natural part of life, yet there is a place of meaning in it.