Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
One feeling that has resurfaced since my Dad’s death is anger towards him. As I said in my last post, my husband and I recently bought a house. After selling my Dad’s house the year after he died, my husband and I stored all of the family heirlooms that used to be in my parents’ basement (family pictures, family China, my Mom’s Snow Babies and other knick knacks she collected, as well as a few boxes of stuff from my Grandparents). The boxes added ...
I’ve been struggling with some fairly heavy emotions recently as a result of some youth suicides that have hit close to home. First, I learned of a 12-year-old girl at our local elementary school who took her life because of ongoing bullying. Days later, I read about a young boy of the same age who shot himself at a Boy Scout summer camp. Immediately, I was struck with grief and disbelief that children so young (and younger) even know what ...
No matter how much time has passed, I still can’t seem to get over the fact that life continues to progress without my Dad here to be a part of it. It seems like the past few months have brought constant reminders that he’s gone and won’t be able to experience all of the exciting things that are happening for me right now. In May, my husband and I sold our condo in the city and bought our first house in the Chicago suburbs. It was a big step, but ...
One of the more common questions I get as a survivor of suicide is how I prefer to describe my dad’s final act. In an effort to be “PC,” they wonder if it’s better to say he completed vs. committed suicide, or even something else, like “he took his life.” To be honest, it never really occurred to me to think about it until I was asked. This is certainly a personal “preference” for survivors, but for me, there was really no sugar-coating the fact ...
After my dad died, I remember wanting nothing more than to be “visited” by him in my dreams. I often heard other survivors talk about wonderful dreams they had experienced – some that helped them find closure or assurance that their loved one was now in a better place. It took quite a long time for me to experience a dream. I can’t remember what that first one was about, exactly, but I think it was something pretty random – like a flicker of ...
