Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
I recently bought several books related to suicide and depression and the first one I started reading was The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham. It’s a great book—an “index” of everything related to her father’s suicide and her methodical process of trying to figure out his story and the reasons that made him end his life. She details the day of—from her dropping her son off at her in-laws, to how she’ll feel about seeing her Mom, to the emotions ...
My counselor told me that the people who grieved the healthiest were the ones who were able to have a relationship with their loved ones after their death. She said it especially helped during the holidays, which as we all know, are some of the hardest times to deal with after losing a loved one to suicide. She gave me a list of things that I could try: visiting the cemetery, sharing a story about him with the family I was celebrating with, ...
In honor of National Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10) and week (Sept. 8-14), we wanted to share some of the helpful articles and resources we’ve identified through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). This is a tough week for survivors because we have experienced the terrible tragedy of losing a loved one to suicide. Many of us feel if there was ANYTHING we could have done to prevent our friend or family member from taking ...
Since losing my dad, I seem to pay more attention to suicide in the news. Unfortunately, there has been much too steady of a pace of celebrity or high-profile suicides in the news lately and it has left me feeling “fatigued.” Are they happening more frequently, or is this the new media fixation of the moment? Upon waking up this morning, I did my usual scroll through Facebook and saw reports that Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro had taken his ...
This past week, I enjoyed a vacation in Florida with my husband and some friends. While passing the time during an airport layover, I perused a few store bookshelves (as I often do) to see if something might pique my interest. I couldn’t help but notice – especially in the South – the pervasiveness of self-help books. One called “52 Things Daughters Need from Their Dads” jumped out. This is because my dad was a self-help book junkie and likely ...
