Recently, a friend of mine experienced a suicide loss. This was the first time that I had someone close to me lose someone in the same manner that I lost my dad. While I am constantly entrenched in suicide both personally and professionally something made this loss different. It hit close to home. A dear friend of mine called to tell me the news asking, "What can I do?" For the first time, I was at a loss. I thought about it and told her, ...
Blame and Suicide
With most other causes of death, it seems survivors have at least one source to “blame” for taking away a loved one, which can provide a sense of comfort and closure we humans so desperately need. Whether it’s blaming a life-threatening disease, an at-fault party in an accident, or a violent criminal, anger and sadness can be directed their way, allowing those left behind to focus on grieving the innocence of the one lost. Suicide isn’t so black ...
Conversations about Suicide
This week we welcome guest blogger, Deborah Greene, who lost her father to suicide on April 20th, 2015. She offers her reflection on the last conversation she had with her father prior to his death. We thank Deborah for a sharing a piece of her grief journey with us.
In one of the last conversations that I had with my father, I recounted an episode of severe depression that he’d experienced when I was a child. He had left his job after ...
Combing through the Past after a Suicide
Through my own grief journey I have come to find that regret lives in the past, hope lives in the future. I think this was a notion that I believed even before losing my dad to suicide. However, I think in the aftermath of a loss by suicide, we almost have to go back before we can move forward.
I believe that we can find answers when we go back. They might not be THE answer, but they are answers that help us make sense of something that ...
Did I really know my Dad? Life after Suicide
Life after suicide leaves you feeling unsettled as you question whether you knew the person you lost. The person that died that day looks nothing like the person you knew. How could I have not known? You often know the person you lost for the duration of either their life or your own. In that amount of time, you just assume you know exactly who that person is. But the truth is, we often don't truly know the person at all. Why is that?
A ...