THIS IS US
So, I Guess You’re The Suicide Guy
I have no idea what instinct kicked in to get me to start doing this, but my pen flew as she talked
I received an email earlier this year from a friend — someone I know casually. Okay, she’s the girlfriend of a folk singer I listen to. Look, I can’t explain these things. Talk to my mother.
Anyway, her email began with, “So I guess you’re the suicide guy.” She’s not wrong.
Well, not entirely. I am one of many “suicide guys” (and gals) quietly, and not-so-quietly working all over the world to decrease stigma related to suicide, to raise awareness about suicide and its prevention, and to maybe help people in distress or even crisis.
You might be wondering, how does one become a “suicide guy”? Well, the path to suicide-awareness advocacy is often multipronged and circuitous, rather like the path to suicide itself. One of the first myths, in fact, that any suicide-awareness advocate is compelled to debunk is that suicide is caused by one single event:
“He was a closeted homosexual.”
“They found something incriminating on his phone.”
“His wife was leaving him.”
