A friend of ours committed suicide this week. An adult man, mid-forties; two kids and a wife. The funeral is on Friday. Earlier in the year, a kid in my son’s football team took his life – 13 years old, early secondary school years, nice young man; kind and conscientious. Many years ago I watched a family deal with the aftermath of their 20-year-old son, brother, grandson taking his own life. It was a desperate time. I hope I never have to go through the trauma of losing someone close in this way, especially not a child. It’s hard to make sense of suicide. We, the bystanders, need reasons, causes and answers; someone to blame, some thing to blame. While I don't think its that simple, suicide definitely leaves complexities to add to the grief for those left behind - a dark forrest of scary demons to navigate through - most of them internal; all the ‘what if’s’, and guilt, wondering if I’d been a better parent, better sibling, listened more, loved more, done more. It’s
Comments