NeuroTalk Support Groups - Every Survivor Has A Story

Every Survivor has a story. We can be survivors of many things but in this case we are survivors of a loss through a duicide death. We are people affected by the event of someone we know or love, ending their own life. That event of an "unnatural death" falls outside the definition of a "natural death" as society defines it. It is an event that feels "different" to those who are left to make some sense of the untimely exit of this life by one they cared about.

Some survivors talk about their stories, some write about their stories, some bury or deny their stories, some are moved to action or inspired to do greater things because of their stories. Some survivors agonize for years about their stories; feeling that life has dealt them a blow beyond recovery. The suicide loss has "changed them forever". Their very sense of being has been shaken and challenged. This piece of their history has altered all that the future will bring. These feelings are very real and can put one on an unsteady path.

The amazing part is that survivors do "survive". I know this not only because I have done so but I am privileged to see many others also do so. Although it may seem unattainable at many points (especially soon after the loss); there is a life ahead for those who do the hard work of grieving. There is another way of living that does not involve that deep, searing, unrelenting pain that is often felt when we are forced to accept the fact that a death was the result of suicide.

How lucky I am to have learned from the stories and experiences of other survivors. I am fortunate to be able to look back on my loss from a distance. I am fortunate to have been guided and encouraged many times by the love and support of others. How lucky I am to know that it is possible to survive and also thrive.

Every survivor has a story. Some of us are tellers, some are listeners. Some of us are both.

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by Jeanne Moren [Adams] from her book The Dividing Line