A groundbreaking conversation about male suicide prevention launches this week on Don’t Let The Old Man In Podcast, featuring Stuart O’Neill — the mental health advocate whose self-published book has quietly become a global suicide prevention tool used by crisis services, hospitals, and families across 20 countries.
In Just One Reason: Stuart O’Neill on Survival, Hope and the Power of Connection, host Pod O’Sullivan explores how one man’s darkest moment sparked a movement that has distributed over 50,000 copies of a deceptively simple book designed to interrupt suicidal thoughts.
Stuart’s story began with the collapse of his marriage. Alone overseas, he planned to end his life until a single realisation stopped him.
That moment of clarity became Just One Reason, a 10-minute read that asks practical, grounding questions designed to create a circuit breaker during a crisis. “Your brain plays tricks on you,” Stuart explains. “The book teaches you to play one back.”
What began as a self-published book has been adopted by Lifeline, prescribed by doctors, and shared in settings from police stations to drought-stricken farms. The movement’s reach extends from a 10-year-old Melbourne boy who began speaking again after reading it, to adults across demographics who’ve found hope in its pages.
“I thought I was writing a book for men,” Stuart admits. “But what I’ve learned is that pain doesn’t care about gender. We’re all human.”
The episode explores Stuart’s unconventional approach to mental health advocacy — including flying books into rural communities during drought, creating Australia’s first “mental health pub” at the Deepwater Hotel, and sitting at kitchen tables with families in crisis across regional Australia.
Australian men face disproportionate suicide rates, with limited resources designed specifically for male experiences of crisis. This episode arrives as mental health services report increasing demand from men in midlife facing relationship breakdowns, career transitions, and social isolation.
“Just One Reason: Stuart O’Neill on Survival, Hope and the Power of Connection” launches 28 October on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeart, and all major podcast platforms.
