The Importance of Sharing Stories

Sharing stories is so important. It may even save a life.

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and the truth is, many of us carry stories far closer to this than we ever wished. My own family is one of them.

I met my husband on January 1, 1990. By October that year we were engaged, eager to share our news with loved ones. Most conversations were in person, except for the one with his sister, Shelly, who lived in British Columbia. I had only just met her that summer, at our small-town homecoming weekend. She was welcoming and full of fun, quick to make me feel like family.

We called to tell her about the engagement and our honeymoon plans. She was excited for us. That was the last time we spoke with her.

Shelly was going through a separation, raising two small children — a daughter almost three, and a son who would celebrate his first birthday only days after she was gone. Her death devastated the family. The debris of a suicide is like a bomb. The impact is far-reaching, scattering pain in every direction.

Fast forward to 1994. I had just given birth to my daughter. One evening, I found myself curled in the corner of the living room, sobbing uncontrollably. I had been diagnosed with postpartum depression in hospital, and Shannon, not knowing what to do, asked me quietly, "Are you going to end up like Shelly?"

I didn't know. That terrified me. How had Shelly reached the point of believing death was easier than life? I felt the ground slipping under me, unsure if my mind was truly my own. It shook me to the core.

But I knew this: I could not put Shannon through that kind of loss again. My love for him was fierce, but it could not mend the brokenness Shelly's death had left behind. I sought treatment and began the long road toward recovery.

That is why telling these stories matters. Silence only deepens the shadows. Speaking aloud what is hard, what is painful, what is real — it can offer someone else a lifeline when they feel most alone.

If you are struggling, please know this: you are not alone. There are people ready to listen, ready to help, ready to hold hope when you cannot. And if you can, share your story. You never know whose life it may save.