Surrender your necktie and shoelaces before you read this week's Blawg Review.

Keith Lee hosts this week's Blawg Review #281 at his An Associate's Mind blog. Though he discusses the pressure he felt in hosting the carnival of legal blogging, his work speaks to the fact that he didn't shy from the challenge. Instead, he's tackled one of the more difficult issues our profession faces — or, more usually, doesn't face — the high incidence of suicide and self-harm amongst our colleagues. Lee writes:

As Winston Churchill said: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up.”

....

It’s important to remember that “Seeking Help is Proof of Strength.” If you, or someone you know seems caught by depression, know that there are those out there who want to help you. Even if you or they are not aware of it, there are friends and family that want to help; they might just not know or be too scared to say otherwise. Reach out – they’ll be there for you.

Highlights include posts about the damage which may be caused by both failures and successes, navigating the politics of the law office and the courthouse, and coming to terms with the choices we've made. Lee himself puts it well:

But this is what I asked for. This is what all of us who want to be lawyers, or are lawyers, asked for. To be thrown in the gauntlet and asked to step up again and again for those depending on us, when we are down or hurting. To provide counsel and guidance when we feel as though we can’t provide the same for ourselves.

Well done.

Mark Bennett will host next week's Blawg Review at his Defending People blog.