I am a Christian, wife, and mother of two sons. My life has always been spent as one with my husband happily living on our own little piece of land in this ever-changing and challenging world. I have enjoyed dancing, gardening, canning, sewing, caring for a wide variety of pets, and have always been more than willing to serve and volunteer when needed. It is a simple life, but one that I love and have always felt blessed to have.

My passion however lies as an advocate in sharing with others on the importance of making health a priority in the lives of today’s families. Having experienced the death of my father to suicide, I realized at a young age how short life really is as well as the detrimental effects that it leaves on the remaining family members. It was not until experiencing the suicides of my sister and grandfather, the suicides of three students on separate occasions at the private school where I worked, the suicides of the fathers and spouses to three very close friends and the attempts made by three loved ones that I became so passionate yearning to learn what could cause someone to end their own life? Why does a person give up hope that their life will ever get better? And what causes someone to want to take the innocent lives of others before ending their own?

Suicide is the only leading cause of death including cancer and heart disease that is significantly increasing each year. Although losing someone to some type of illness, disease or cancer is difficult; losing someone to suicide leaves an emotional pain that never ceases, a relentless guilt, and a lifetime of unanswered questions – “why could I not help them”, “what did I do wrong that caused this”, “why couldn’t I see the pain they were in”, “how could they leave me”, “will they be in Heaven”, “God, if only I had a second chance with them”, “why did I wish or say what I did” – and the endless questions continue on …..

What is known is that no one is safe from suicide or the silent and subtle destructive process which takes place prior to claiming its victims. Family members are left behind grieving the loss of their loved one and suffering from the attached stigma. This stigma keeps families from sharing their untold story, which if it were shared, could possibly save another person’s life.

All life is sacred and my blog hopes to break that silence and to share what is known. It is those untold stories that bear the truth of what contributes to someone ending their life. To prevent suicide, it is important to have a better understanding of all the contributing factors so that together we can begin to save lives because “Every Life Matters!”