[Alffe]

Suicide is like a haunting fog, having no boundaries and forever lingering in the thoughts of those who have survived it. I speak from experience when I say there is nothing more devastating than losing a loved one to suicide. Afterward, my family did not talk about it, and we bore the heavy burden of that tragedy in secret. Like many survivors, I wondered who was to blame and what I could have done to prevent it. My embarrassment and shame made a melancholy situation even worse. It was difficult to explain to others, especially when no one wanted to talk about it.

For many years, I kept my feelings to myself. That finally changed when Mike Wallace, the normally stone-faced CBS news journalist, testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Mr. Wallace had tears in his eyes when he spoke about thoughts of taking his own life, and I was forced to finally confront my feelings about my father's suicide. His soul-baring experience gave me the courage to be open about my father's death. For the first time, I found myself sharing with my Senate colleagues the fact that my father killed himself.

24th U.S.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Foreward

Voices of Strength. Sons and Daughters of Suicide Speak Out

Authors Judy Zionts Fox, RN, LSW and Mia Roldan