[Alffe]

The suicide of a parent shatters a child's belief that he or she is lovable and worthy of being loved...When death happens suddenly or violently or after a long illness, a child must contend with the uncertainty of the world and with a parent's inability to prevent disaster. Yet that child knows that his or her parent did not want to die. Given a choice, he or she would prefer...to be there forever.

When a parent commits suicide, a child must contend with the fact that the parent died willingly, that he or she sought death and knowingly...left the child behind. The refrain of "if my mother or father loved me, how could they have left me?" haunts the lives of the survivors of suicide. Children may come to doubt their own worthiness and inherent goodness. Perhaps it was beause they were not good enough that the parent chose to leave them.

The Loss That is Forever: The Lifelong Impact of the Early Death of a Mother or Father Author Maxine Harris