Have you lost a loved one to suicide?
Today my co-author’s brother, Jim, would have been 57. Sadly, Kristina Cowan lost him to suicide ten years ago. And she’s not alone.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in the US, “On average, there are 132 suicides per day.”
To make matters worse, Kristina writes, “each death intimately affects at least six others.”
In Our Book, We Tackle Complicated Grief
Are you or a friend battling the complicated grief that accompanies a loved one’s suicide? Order our latest book, When Losses Become Legacies: Memoirs on Grief, God, and Glory. In it, Kristina shares how her mother’s death by cancer and her brother’s death by suicide affected her. Here’s an excerpt:
“I was powerless as I watched my mom decline, in part because I was a child. Even as an adult, when I tried to help Jim, I couldn’t prevent him from ending his life. Where is God in all of this?”
Perhaps you’ve asked the same question. In chapter five, discover how Kristina found faith and hope after loss in her story, “Praying Hands.”
Essays, Letters, and Stories about Suicide
Looking for something shorter? Click on a title below to continue reading one of the articles Kristina wrote about suicide:
“My Brother’s Keeper”
My brother, Jim, died by suicide on a bright day in early September, ending the darkest time in his life — and mine.
“The Upside of Early Loss”
What could be good about my mom dying when I was a kid?
“To My Brother, Who Would Be 50”
Dear Jim, This month you would’ve reached a milestone—a half-century of life.
Kristina with her siblings, Jim and Lisa, in 2006.
“Suicide and Its Unrelenting Stigma”
Our society does a good job of saddling suicide with stigma.
“What the Living Can Learn from the Dying”
Kara Tippetts, a wife and young mother, died recently.
“Braving the Holidays After the Trauma of Suicide”
In the two years since Jim’s passing, I’ve learned a few things.
“Staying Healthy After Losing Someone to Suicide”
In the days after my brother’s suicide, my cousin asked me how often I found myself sighing.