Death by Suicide

One of my nephews died last Monday at the age of 47. While it is tragic enough to lose a person so young, the grief is compounded by the fact that he took his own life, leaving a suicide note behind. Because he grew up in a state far away from me, we were not as close as I would have liked. I cannot begin to fathom what drove him to give up hope, though I have since heard he was experiencing financial difficulties.

As a nation we need to do better at providing mental health options for people in need. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Each year around 45,000 people commit suicide in our country, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Sadly, my nephew will be part of the 2018 statistic.

September is National Suicide Prevention month. Let's all do our part to draw attention to the problem of suicide, let people know that suicide can be prevented, and advocate to do more to prevent people from feeling like suicide is their only option. It's too late for my nephew, but hopefully not too late to help others who are struggling.

poem for my nephew