Offering hope, comfort and support for survivors of suicide loss.
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 ...
Recently, I was asked to participate in a radio panel discussion around the topic of suicide, including the way it's discussed in society and addressed by the media. A recording of my segment is now available - listen here. I first want to thank the host and producers of "The Afternoon Shift" on WBEZ 91.5 Chicago, for taking an interest in the topic of suicide. It is truly refreshing to see the media addressing a topic that has been silenced for ...
My pleasant, sunny drive to work this morning took an annoying turn when my usual FM radio show hosts started to share their thoughts on a new study about the correlation between coffee consumption and suicide. According to WebMD, people who drank more than four cups of coffee a day were 53 percent less likely to commit suicide than those who drank less than one cup a day. The researchers said that caffeine in coffee can increase ...
Suicide is and will always be a shocking notion. Because of this, people don’t always know what they should or shouldn’t say to someone in the wake of their loss, or if they should say something at all. As a survivor, I can say that it’s always better to say something to the bereaved versus avoiding the subject. It shows you care. Following are a few of the tips I would offer to someone who wants to reach out to a suicide survivor with words of ...
