It is estimated that over 30,000 suicides occur in the United States alone
annually, making suicide the eleventh leading cause of death in this country
(ASFP). The World Health Organization estimates that a million people commit suicide in a year.
On Friday the 13th of August, 1999, my baby brother Walter put
a bullet through his head. He was only nineteen, still just a kid.
This is the most horrible thing I can imagine happening, and definitely
the most devastating thing I have experienced. Words are not sufficient to describe the pain that has resulted from this act. If you are grieving a loss
due to suicide, you likely feel the same way.
Thank you to all my friends who have supported me through this nightmare.
I am very fortunate to have extremely loving friends.
I hope you find this page useful. I will continue to update it and add to it.
Update As of June 2003, the need for these continued efforts has been painfully underscored as I have now lost a cousin to the disease of depression. His is one more suicide in this terrible epidemic.
No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One.
1997. Carla Fine. Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide. 1999. Kay Redfield
Jamison. Recovering from the Loss of a Sibling. 1988. Katherine
Fair Donnelly. Healing After Loss : Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief.
1994. Martha Whitmore Hickman.
