It was about a year after my son Noah’s suicide, at a conference for survivors of suicide loss, when I first heard someone describe what led to their own suicide attempt. My hackles bristled so fiercely I couldn’t hear the details. I resisted being dragged inside that bleak and scary place, as if despair were [...]
He used to be a couple of years older than me. I am now five years older than him because he decided to end his life. As the years pass, he will stay 39 and I will continue to grow older. I still sometimes blame myself. The “what if’s” and “If I had only’s…” never [...]
In this 3-part conversation, "Physical Health Bias in the Medical System,” psychologist Dr. April Foreman, psychologist Dr. William Schmitz Jr. and suicide loss survivor Shirlee Zane tell us why the medical system is failing our society when it comes to mental health and suicide prevention.
Growing up in ultimate survival mode-- my father was a Vietnam veteran Air Force pilot-- and still living in survival mode is sometimes very overwhelming.
In this 3-part conversation, "The Cost of Medical System Failures,” NYT best-selling author Andrew Solomon, suicide loss survivor Shirlee Zane and psychologist Dr. April Foreman tell us why the medical system is failing our society due to cost and stigma.
On a chilly evening in late March of 2012, I walked into a room and sat down amongst a group of strangers. The only thing we had in common was we all had lost someone who died by suicide.
When I was asked to speak at Brandon Toh’s memorial service, I had no idea of the journey it would take me on. The speech that I wrote ended up inspiring a full-length production called "Ceiling in the Floor, ” a theater/music/dance piece that tells the story of our friendship and features his incredible music. [...]
My flip phone says 3 missed calls 2 from home 1 from him I assume her phone died so she used his to call me and I quickly relive the night before up in the wee morning hours listening to her tears telling her it'll be okay get to yoga center yourself you only want to be with someone who [...]
Read Director Lisa Klein's recently published piece on Mental Health on The Mighty. Looking back at loss and lessons learned along the way, “How could he have done that to us? It was so selfish.” I wondered this as well, until I started talking with and listening to people with lived experience – people who [...]
