This month my son Ryan has been gone for 12 years. In many ways it’s like yesterday and other ways it’s seems so long ago. In time you will learn to live with the hurt and pain but you never “get over it”. People have said well I’m glad you are over his death, and they mean well. I want to lash out and say “you are NEVER over it”, you only learn to keep moving and move through the grief. I honestly can say without Linda Davis and without Austin-SOS I do not know if I could have made it down this road. If you will listen to her and to the stories of the others in the group you will heal. When you feel ready reach out and help someone else who is just starting down the path and you will get so much more back than you have to give. What you do might seem menial but do something. Plant a tree, buy a book for the SOS library, donate time to the group helping Linda. It’s in these ways that you will honor your loved one. Keep in mind that it is not how they died it is that they are gone. Focus on bringing suicide to the forefront and be open as that is the way we will help others to learn about suicide and perhaps make the victims more open to seek help. I can only hope that in time there will be no need for this website or this group because we all stood up and said the word “suicide” out loud and we feel no shame. Speaking out starts with opening up and truly understanding that “well” people do not take their lives. They may have been suffering with mental illness for a long time or just in that very moment that took them away. Love yourself and know you are not alone. Michelle Sheehan
