One thing that struck a nerve with me. If you watch Season 11 of Parts Unknown, you can definitely see a man who is at times struggling with himself and who he is, blatantly, openly so at points.
For all the episodes where he is having a ball, it definitely paints a contrast, and a tragic one at that.
His return to Borneo was rather profound, for me. He seemed to be battling demons, be it substance or other.
This is a couple of years old, visiting Borneo for the second time, but I think shows it perfectly, particularly his comments on slaughtering a pig with a spear (with accompanying, though censored, visuals):
If you don't know what to say, don't ask "What happened?" - that focuses on the problem. Say "Are you OK?" If they trust you, they'll open up.
Suicide is shut down.
Moving country is reboot.
There is a reboot option.
If life doesn't work out elsewhere, I might try to become a monk first, before trying to end my own life. Or taking dangerous occupations, such as war zone journalism. There's nothing else to fear when death is no longer a threat. I haven't yet tried all those alternatives, so I'll do that first before making a permanent decision. I'd still rather commit suicide than be forced to murder someone else though (e.g. military service), so I hope that no government forces weapons into my hands.
This is particularly relevant to Anthony Bourdain's case. If you recall from his earliest shows he was always talking about throwing in the towel and becoming an ex-pat in viet nam or wherever he happened to be.
For all the episodes where he is having a ball, it definitely paints a contrast, and a tragic one at that.
His return to Borneo was rather profound, for me. He seemed to be battling demons, be it substance or other.