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My brother killed himself fifty-one years ago this month. He was nineteen. I was thirteen. I came upon the program today by accident and feel grateful for it. The change of language from "committed suicide" to "died by suicide" was, in itself, enlightening. It seems so right and obvious to make this change, but it had never occurred to me. Even though it has been many years since my brother died, I still miss him. I think I miss his presence now, in fact, more than I did when I was younger (except at the very beginning, when his loss struck all of us in the family dumb with pain). I'd love to know the man he would have become. He was smart, gentle, curious, creative, irreverent, and funny and oh so much more. Good friends, good times, working hard at things I love, and living life as honestly as possible--for me, these have been the only ways I know of to grab hold of life and hang on, despite his loss. I know he would have wanted the very best life for me. Thank you all for sharing your stories, thoughts, emotions, and thank you to the producers of this program.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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