Guardian of the Golden Gate ― Protecting the Line Between Hope and Despair

The wind was gusting around the Golden Gate Bridge on a March afternoon in 2005 when a 22-year-old man climbed the railing, convinced he and this world would be better without each other. He put himself on a thin beam 220 feet above the Pacific Ocean.The man had just lost his job and felt overwhelmed as a new father.Kevin Berthia wanted to die, and he had come to the world's most effective suicide destination to make that happen. That's when he met a highway patrolman, a former Army soldier and San Quentin State Prison guard named Kevin Briggs."I know you must be in tremendous pain," Briggs said over the railing. "If you want to talk, I'm here to listen." The next 90 minutes saved Berthia's life.The bulk of Briggs' career was with the California State Highway Patrol, including more than two decades with the Marin County office. There, he worked predominately on the Golden Gate Bridge, which every month produces four to six suicidal subjects.Briggs had no training with suicide prevention or mental illness before taking the job with the CHP, but has since become such a respected expert that he's helped train the FBI and several major corporations.

Kevin Briggs is one of the world's most active and involved advocates for suicide awareness and prevention. Briggs has been featured in The New Yorker, Men's Health, and People magazines as well as several national radio and television shows.Briggs regularly travels the country helping people and businesses learn crisis management, the signs of suicidal risk, and the best steps to help prevent a tracedy that still takes the life of an American every 13 minutes. He is the father of two boys and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.Sam Mellinger has worked at The Kansas City Star since 2000, the last five years as a sports columnist. His work has been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors, Kansas and Missouri Press Associations, and Best American Sports Writing. He lives in Kansas City with his wife, Katie, and son, Samuel. This is his second book.