I never knew I was able to, or, for that matter, had a gift for public speaking until I spoke to an over-flowing church for Jesse and Maribella’s memorial. After, many people commented and said, you are really good at that, especially under the circumstances, which got me thinking.
Continue readingShe was four years, ten months, and seventeen days when she died. Yesterday, it was four years, ten months, and seventeen days since she died. Today, she is dead longer than she was alive.
Continue readingSpring is a busy time in the suicide prevention community in terms of conferences and fundraisers. For me, it coincides with the death of Jesse and Bella.
Continue readingIt is weird to think that I had heart surgery less than two weeks ago. I am constantly awed at the advances we have made in western medicine that they did not have to crack me open to do this.
Continue readingI have mentioned in many a post how I have been waiting for my kid’s grief to come to the surface, as it inevitably does for all of us at some point or way. Over the past few months, it has been bubbling to the surface. It is heart breaking as a parent when we see our kid in pain and can’t take it away or make it better. Today was no different. Continue reading
This past week has been hard for all of us. 17 more innocent lives lost. It brings to the forefront arguments that have been given time and time again, some correct, some incorrect. I am not going to get into them all, but wanted to touch upon a “conversation” from today via Facebook. Continue reading
I am on the Suicide Prevention Alliance for the State of OR. It is an amazing group of people dedicated to reducing the rates of youth suicide in youth in Oregon. Between being apart of this group, and Trump, I am learning a lot of how governments work, and don’t work.
My mind has been going non-stop since last week when I heard of Chester Bennington’s death. I watched and read as my suicide prevention community lit up Facebook with heartbreak and further resolve. Continue reading
I was just at the American Association of Suicidology’s 50th Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ this past week, where I had the honor to speak at twice (which is kind of a big deal for me). Yeah, that is a mouthful, you should have seen the faces of people on the plane when they asked what conference I was going to and speaking at. I digress, which I apologize ahead of time with this one, I am a little jet-lagged, which I will get to. Continue reading
As far back as I can remember, I thought about death. I remember as a teenager, there was once a disagreement in the house, and I yelled, this is stupid, you can’t leave mad, what if I walked outside, tripped on the curb, and broke my head open, how would you feel? Okay, maybe I was a bit dramatic as a teen… I also remember when Meet Joe Black came out, and after watching it, bawling my eyes out, I had one word, This. Death is the only guarantee we have in this life. Continue reading