Laura's Requiem, a single medical case report of the story of a woman's life and death by suicide, illuminates a hidden epidemic, the epidemic of suicide in the United States. More people die by suicide than are murdered or die in auto accidents. Yet, except for the suicide of a public person, suicide deaths rarely appear in the news. The grief, loss and guilt remain locked in the survivors' souls. Every suicide is unique yet there are common factors that conspire to lead to the decision to die. Laura's Requiem examines these factors and further explores how people value their lives. Medical case histories illustrate the values that preserve life in the face of devastating illness and can in other settings lead to death by one's own hand. The essay also examines how survivors, and in particular the author, come to terms with the loss of a friend to suicide. The author, a Catholic physician, discusses his own role in his friend's life and death and how his faith was shaken and later strengthened by the experience.