Category: Suicide

Suicide, Trauma, Foster Care, Adoption

by Carla A. Carlisle

Carla A. Carlisle

On March 22, 2010, my life was forever changed when I became a first-time foster parent to a beautiful premature 10-day-old, two-month baby boy.  I knew that becoming a foster parent would mean major lifestyle changes, I didn’t know that my connection to this child would change the essence of my being.  I was told that 99% of children taken at birth don’t go back to their birth parents, but this one fell in the 1%.  At six-months-old, this dear sweet baby boy was returned to his birth mother. In the six months, I had interacted … Read more...

Students looking after one another

by Dave Matthews

I live in an older neighborhood.  I used to know everybody and we looked out for each other.  All the neighborhood kids played together, we collected mail and newspapers when a neighbor was away. That sort of community.  We didn’t have a “Neighborhood Watch’, though.  We didn’t really feel like we needed one back then.  We genuinely cared for our neighbors.

Some 40 odd years later we still look out for each other. But now, in the era of  “Me Too” and BLM and wearing masks to protect one another, it seems to take on a new … Read more...

I need your help

i need your help

I am co-writing a book with Kimberly O’Brien for Jossey-Bass, a division of Wiley Publishing called the Emotionally Naked Truth About Student Suicide. And I need to interview some people for the book. I’ve had several really good ones so far from all over the country. This book is focused on middle and high schools and here’s what I’m looking for.

  • An African American school counselor or teacher who is dedicated to the cause of suicide prevention in schools. Perhaps this person has been through a student suicide.
  • A teacher who has worked at a school in which there
… Read more...

Does virtual learning create a culture of increased drug use?

by Sarah Scarbrough, Ph.D., Founder of REAL LIFE

We all have heard the news – schools across Virginia, and the country, are returning via a virtual environment. And, we know it is going to be tough. This article is not here to debate the decision or the whys but to raise awareness and open your eyes to something that worries me greatly: idle time, kids home alone with alcohol and drugs.

This article is going to be bold, but I have seen way too much to sit here and be silent. Parents need to have eyes wide open going into … Read more...

Grieving while pregnant

by Barbara Rubel, MA, BCETS, D.A.A.E.T.S.

The doctor held up my newborn and said, “It’s a boy.” A moment later, he held up the second arrival, and announced, “It’s a boy.”  Only a moment passed. My heart filled with anticipation as he held up the third arrival, and proclaimed, “It’s a boy . . . triplets!” I told him that Fred MacMurray would be proud referring to the television sitcom, My Three Sons.

Due to the high-risk level of my pregnancy, I was on bedrest for three weeks in a private room on the maternity ward in a section of … Read more...

Diary of a Broken Mind named an International Book Award Finalist

Download the press release

Beach Glass Books and Emotionally Naked LLC are proud to announce that Diary of a Broken Mind: A Mother’s Story, a Son’s Suicide, and the Haunting Lyrics He Left Behind, by Anne Moss Rogers, with her late son, Charles, has been named a 2020 International Book Awards (ABA) Finalist. The book had already recieved a 2020 Library of Virginia Literary Award nomination, with those results being announced at the end of 2020.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of American Book Fest, said this year’s contest had over 2,000 entries from authors and publishers … Read more...

Hope to Recharge Podcast: Processing the Grief of a Death by Suicide

Website Podcast Link

With Matana Jacobs at Hope to Recharge Podcast. Over 30k downloads!

Grief is incredibly difficult to process through and understand. Navigating through the grief of losing a child is something that could potentially destroy someone.

This podcast sheds light on the hope found within grief and the process of healing after losing a child to death by suicide. If you have not listened to the first conversation, this is the link to the full story about life with Charles, and the journey she and her family went through battling her son’s mental illnesses and addictions.  … Read more...

Sharing a bit of news

Woohoo! I qualified to be a National Speaker’s Association Professional Member. At the moment, I have more virtual events than ones on stages but it’s taken a year to qualify and I turned in all my paperwork and now it’s official.

I hope you are OK with my sharing my braggy news. And if you know of someone looking for a speaker on topics about mental health, grief, suicide prevention, or addiction see my professional speaking page.

Mental health speaker for schools
… Read more...

Your child said he is suicidal: Say this, not that

I get hundreds of messages and comments from children, teens and young adults monthly about how parents respond to “mom/dad, I have been having thoughts of suicide.” I then advise these kids to tell a teacher or a school counselor when a parent isn’t responding.

So if you hear that confession, respond with, “I am so sorry. Tell me more. I am here to help in any way I can.” Then do more listening and no lecturing. Many parents respond appropriately but some do not.

‘My son has admitted he is suicidal. What do I do now?’
… Read more...

P.K. Hill’s Letter of Gratitude

by P.K. Hill

6.9.2020 –If only book acknowledgments could be this long……💜💜

Dear Tara and Branka, and all the survivors who in different ways have helped me stay true on the healing path…

It is difficult to put into words how grateful I am to you. I have spent my entire life searching for a way to become whole and to heal from the violence of childhood sexual abuse and rape which fragmented my soul and messed with my spiritual balance changing the trajectory of my life forever. My childhood, family, and faith were taken from me in the dark … Read more...

Len’s poem

by Len

Sadness, beyond measure,
You will not leave,
My mind is yours to keep,
I loathe the weakness …

Sorrow, aching, and present,
You dwell inside,
My intellect powerless,
I despair over the struggle …

Shame, in losing the fight,
You shred one’s dignity,
My spirit again incarcerated,
I can see the dark …

Suffering, malignant thought,
You defeat and eviscerate,
My life thus made hollow,
I have become something else …

Sanity, once at hand but not,
You beg for certitude,
My body seeks safe harbor,
I find only savage seas …

Note: Len has been writing to … Read more...

Virtual Turning Pain into Purpose Recording

speaker for drugs and addiction

Click here to see the recording of the above event.

And for more drug, mental health, and suicide prevention educational events from Johnny’s Ambassadors, visit here. These GoToWebinars allow you to attend with more anonymity than zoom meetings or live events.

Since they are a nonprofit, here is the donation link. Laura also lost her son to suicide as a result of drug use. Laura’s story is below.

Does marijuana use increase teen suicide risk?
… Read more...

Best Anxiety Apps

Trying to find the best anxiety apps is an exercise that promotes more stress than it solves because there are hundreds. Which one do you pick? Are the ones asking for money worth it? Do they work? A while back I posted suicide prevention apps, even harder to find and you can find those here.

No one from any of these companies asked me to review these and I get no kick backs if you download one so this is an unbiased review based on research and professional reviews.

The anxiety apps included here have been reviewed by licensed … Read more...

So why do kids not tell parents they are suicidal? Quotes from real kids.

I get hundreds of messages and comments from children, teens, and young adults monthly about how parents respond to, “Mom/Dad, I have been having thoughts of suicide.” When they get a response like some of the ones below, I then advise these kids to tell a teacher or a school counselor.

Sometimes a parent isn’t the best person to tell.

For one it’s hard for a parent to imagine life would be so bad for our child that they’d resort to killing themselves. From our point of view, their lives look pretty good. So sometimes we dismiss their pain as … Read more...