American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Kudos to my brother who did his second Out of the Darkness walk this year.  It is put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), whose goal is to understand and prevent suicide through research, education and advocacy.  The walks are held across the country.

My brother walked as a tribute to my father, who committed suicide back in 1983.  I was 21 and he was 24, but we were much younger than that when my father struggled with alcoholism.  We talked about the impact our father's suicide had on us, and still has on us.  We just exchanged a few sentences, but the exchange was incredibly profound.  How nice that we can talk about it now.

For me, many years later, thoughts will appear out of the blue, about how much I missed out on due to his absence.  I would not wish suicide on any family.

Thank you, Don, for raising awareness with your walks.  It is such a ProLife thing that you do.


image - http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.eventList