While most of America celebrates Thanksgiving, my calendar will mark the fifth week since my son committed suicide. What do I have to be thankful about?Last Thanksgiving, I was thankful that my beloved son had survived one more year with his crippling depression. He'd lost his job, yet ... Continue reading
When suicide sat down to dinner
“After you were born, your mother told me: 'We're just here to be memories for our kids.'”Cooper saying goodbye to Murphy in the movie InterstellarI barely remember my father, and what “memories” I have might be manufactured, for all that I know. I suspect most of them are just impressions ... Continue reading
From despair to hope
The actor Jim Carrey, 53, and Cathriona White, 28, were on and off lovers in the modern way of things. They apparently started up their relationship again in May, only to separate again in the last few weeks. This time, the breakup seems to have been too much for White, who committed suicide, ... Continue reading
Walking backwards
I do not consider myself to have "arrived" spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping even more firmly that purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me. I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past ... Continue reading
Troubled Minds: A review
Time and again in the Gospels we see Jesus turning the accepted wisdom of the people of God upside down. He challenged the Sabbath orthodoxy by insisting that doing good works is no violation of God's commands. He touched lepers to show that there are no untouchables in God's Kingdom. He calmed a ... Continue reading
Unsound minds
Dr. Mark Powell: I'd like to begin by asking you... if you know why you're here. Prot: Of course. You think I'm crazy. Powell: I prefer the term "ill". Do you think you are... ill? Prot: A little homesick, perhaps. Powell: Really? Where is home? Prot: K-PAX. Powell: K-PAX? Prot: ... K-PAX is ... Continue reading
Where have I been?
I am extremely grateful that people come here to read what I write. In fact, I'm usually quite astounded, because there is no shortage of reading material on the Internet, and there are a great many writers out there more talented than I am.My post about Faith in America went up after a 50-day ... Continue reading
Looking for life
A new five-year analysis of the nation's death rates ... found that the suicide rate among 45-to-54-year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004, the latest year studied, far outpacing changes in nearly every other age group. — Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers, Patricia Cohen, ... Continue reading