Stephen King’s Joyland : heartbreak, suicidality and recovery in young men – Psychiatry in literature

Stephen King's Joyland (2013) is a mystery novela ghost story; it isn't as terrifying as his typical horror books, but it shares coming-of-age themes with some of King's other works.It tells the story of Devin Jones, a man in his 60s reflecting on the time he worked at a haunted North Carolina amusement park, Joyland, in 1973, when he was a 21-year-old man with 'a broken heart' and 'occasional suicidal ideations'.The novel's first-person narration highlights his distressed mental state post breakup and eventual recovery, reinforcing themes of finding belonging amid periods of loss and loneliness.Thus, drawing on Devin's story, this essay examines heartbreak as a risk factor for suicidality in young men and the protective factors that may buffer against this outcome.