Thanks a million for this episode. The opportunities to hear a parent who’s had a child die are still fairly few and far between. It’s a hard conversation.
Our youngest son died in June 2018 by his own hand at 18. We’ve had an experience very similar to what Colin and Gail have had. We’ve not only had friends drift away but family, too. W…
Thanks a million for this episode. The opportunities to hear a parent who’s had a child die are still fairly few and far between. It’s a hard conversation.
Our youngest son died in June 2018 by his own hand at 18. We’ve had an experience very similar to what Colin and Gail have had. We’ve not only had friends drift away but family, too. We’ve found that mentioning our son is a conversation stopper when we’d love nothing more than to talk about our son. I do think people are afraid I’m just going to crumble on the spot....and I might, for a minute. But that will be followed by something close to happiness while I tell the person all the great thing’s our boy brought to our lives.
I approached my grief in a way similar to Colin’s. I leaned in. William, that’s my son’s name, composed music on his computer and I set about compiling that. I pulled together all of his artwork and watched videos he made of himself singing. It was simultaneously painful and joyful. It’s helped me quite a bit. I still dig in even these 5+ years on.
Anyways, a small suggestion on what to say: if you knew the child, tell the parents what you appreciated about him or her. If you didn’t, ask the parent to tell you about their child.
Suicide is a high discomfort topic that people avoid. I am so sorry you lost your son William at 18 this way. And to have people act like he never existed would be devastating all over again.
Thanks a million for this episode. The opportunities to hear a parent who’s had a child die are still fairly few and far between. It’s a hard conversation.
Our youngest son died in June 2018 by his own hand at 18. We’ve had an experience very similar to what Colin and Gail have had. We’ve not only had friends drift away but family, too. We’ve found that mentioning our son is a conversation stopper when we’d love nothing more than to talk about our son. I do think people are afraid I’m just going to crumble on the spot....and I might, for a minute. But that will be followed by something close to happiness while I tell the person all the great thing’s our boy brought to our lives.
I approached my grief in a way similar to Colin’s. I leaned in. William, that’s my son’s name, composed music on his computer and I set about compiling that. I pulled together all of his artwork and watched videos he made of himself singing. It was simultaneously painful and joyful. It’s helped me quite a bit. I still dig in even these 5+ years on.
Anyways, a small suggestion on what to say: if you knew the child, tell the parents what you appreciated about him or her. If you didn’t, ask the parent to tell you about their child.
My heart really goes out to you, Bryan. I loved this interview as well.
Suicide is a high discomfort topic that people avoid. I am so sorry you lost your son William at 18 this way. And to have people act like he never existed would be devastating all over again.