Background: The study of the diaries of suicides presents an opportunity for greater insight into the psychodynamics of suicide than does the study of suicide notes.
Aims: The present study analyzed the last year of the published diary of the Italian writer, Cesare Pavese (1908-1950), to identify changes in the content over the last year of his life.
Methods: The last year of the published diary was analyzed using the Linguistic Word Count program.
Results: The proportion of words related to positive emotions and optimism increased over the last year of Pavese's life, and the entries became less complex and more self-oriented.
Conclusions: The results confirm the changes in mood documented in diaries and letters from suicides in previous research, and extend the research to published diaries of famous individuals and in transition.