Thank you so much for this interview series, Katrina!
kd, thank you for sharing your experience surrounding your son’s death. My own son died by suicide four years ago. Unlike your experience, I was fortunate enough to have the support of the community. I am a teacher at the school where my son attended. Both my daughter and I were able to take time off school and integrate slowly.
There have been a few deaths in our school community and in some cases, stigma over suicide has prevented an open conversation over what really happened. I believe that this lack of transparency has made these situations worse, especially for siblings and friends who don’t get the resources that they need. I hope you are doing better. Please take care of yourself.
This is so relatable. Even though thankfully I haven’t lost a child to suicide, we lost a dear friend to it 11 1/2 years ago and a cousin last January. Neither was young, but both were in deep despair, pushing away all who wanted to help. I also lost a brother 3 years ago. While he didn’t take his own life, he had struggled with dangerous bouts of depression for years and died from an illness that I believe was brought on by the mental challenges he couldn’t overcome.
The grief that besets a family in the wake of such tragedy is hard to move past. I can only imagine how much worse it is to cope with the loss of a child. My heart goes out to you, kd. Thanks for sharing your story and to you, Katrina, for highlighting such an important and universal (sadly!) issue.
I'm so sorry for all of your losses, Ruth. Thank you for sharing your connections to suicide/depression. I have found that there are so many who understand to some degree this level of pain/grief and yet finding those people and their stories happens so rarely, organically. But, when it does, it really does comfort me--just knowing that there are others out there who understand. I appreciate your comment, Ruth! It's always so nice to hear from you. :)
Thanks so much, Katrina. There’s so much we experience that doesn’t get shared, especially the sorrowful tales, but I’ve found that when one person opens the door, the stories pour out.
Thank you so much for this interview series, Katrina!
kd, thank you for sharing your experience surrounding your son’s death. My own son died by suicide four years ago. Unlike your experience, I was fortunate enough to have the support of the community. I am a teacher at the school where my son attended. Both my daughter and I were able to take time off school and integrate slowly.
There have been a few deaths in our school community and in some cases, stigma over suicide has prevented an open conversation over what really happened. I believe that this lack of transparency has made these situations worse, especially for siblings and friends who don’t get the resources that they need. I hope you are doing better. Please take care of yourself.
You're so welcome, Aaron!
I relate to so much of this story, thank you for your bravery Kd💛
This is so relatable. Even though thankfully I haven’t lost a child to suicide, we lost a dear friend to it 11 1/2 years ago and a cousin last January. Neither was young, but both were in deep despair, pushing away all who wanted to help. I also lost a brother 3 years ago. While he didn’t take his own life, he had struggled with dangerous bouts of depression for years and died from an illness that I believe was brought on by the mental challenges he couldn’t overcome.
The grief that besets a family in the wake of such tragedy is hard to move past. I can only imagine how much worse it is to cope with the loss of a child. My heart goes out to you, kd. Thanks for sharing your story and to you, Katrina, for highlighting such an important and universal (sadly!) issue.
I'm so sorry for all of your losses, Ruth. Thank you for sharing your connections to suicide/depression. I have found that there are so many who understand to some degree this level of pain/grief and yet finding those people and their stories happens so rarely, organically. But, when it does, it really does comfort me--just knowing that there are others out there who understand. I appreciate your comment, Ruth! It's always so nice to hear from you. :)
Thanks so much, Katrina. There’s so much we experience that doesn’t get shared, especially the sorrowful tales, but I’ve found that when one person opens the door, the stories pour out.