Fierce Goodbye

If You Are a Survivor

Family and friends surviving the suicide of a loved one eventually grasp that their lives have changed forever. The encouraging aspect of this truth that we have gleaned from survivors is that there is help and hope in the aftermath of suicide. Survivors are the biggest help to other survivors.

You're going to have to talk about this sooner or later.
You're going to have deal with the issues of resentment
towards God, towards the one who died, whomever.
Stephen Akinduro, survivor of mother's suicide

Beyond Surviving: Suggestions for Survivors

Iris Bolton, MA, executive director of The Link's National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare (NRC), shares 25 survival tips.

From the desk of Father Rubey

Father Charles T. Rubey is founder of the Catholic Charities' LOSS program, Chicago, Ill. LOSS, Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide, has been serving people who have experienced grief from the suicide of a loved one since 1979. Here are excerpts from Father Rubey's newsletters.

Suggestions for Helping Yourself Survive

Forty-Four suggestions for helping yourself survive. From Hope for Bereaved.

10 Active Ideas

Active ideas that are most helpful after some time has passed. From http://www.jaredstory.com/

The healing process is very important.
When I talk to people who have lost someone to suicide
I stress that they really need to take time
to go through their mourning process.
It took me four years.
When I first lost my son
I think for about maybe a month or so
I sat on the couch and just watched mindless videos.
Popped popcorn, ate Doritos, drank cokes,
stuff I never eat. I couldn't move.
And I just accepted that.
I wanted to cry a lot and I accepted that.
Donna Holland Barnes, Suicidolgist,
Howard University Department of Psychiatry, Washington, D.C.
and survivor of son's suicide