Every day in America, men in their forties and fifties disappear—not from accidents or illness, but by their own hands. Their deaths are softened by euphemisms in obituaries: “passed suddenly,” “unexpectedly at home.” But behind the silence lies a devastating truth: midlife male suicide is one of the fastest-growing and least acknowledged epidemics of our time. In this searing manifesto, Richard Sweeney exposes the crushing convergence of forces driving men to the brink: staggering educational debt, unreachable housing, inflation, high interest rates, and the relentless comparison trap of social media. With urgency and clarity, he dismantles the cultural myths of masculinity that keep men silent while systems profit from their despair. Silent Collapse is not only diagnosis—it is defiance. Through case studies, cultural critique, and bold policy proposals, Sweeney calls for reform: debt forgiveness that recognizes past public service, one lifetime opportunity for a credit reset, and a cultural shift toward collectivism and connection. This book is a rallying cry—for men in despair, for families left behind, and for a society that can no longer afford to stay silent.
