Rumi’s poem above reflects how we perceive our children. These immensely important human beings, however, are mere statistics when discussing surging suicide rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 47,173 Americans died by suicide in 2017 (CDC, 2018). My son was one of those individuals and each of the remaining 47,172 individuals was also someone’s child.

Each of our stories, like our children, are unique. The pain associated with our experience is an unstoppable transformative force. It has the power to destroy us and also serve as an impetus for post-traumatic growth.

This is a place where you as a mother, who lost a child to suicide, can find comfort knowing you are not alone. Your fellow sisters-in-loss may have had different journeys, but we are all in the same world now. The reflections and information shared on this site are intended to help guide you through this dark, rocky, uncharted, and yet, at times, breathtaking terrain.

Learn more about …

• the origins of this project
• the meaning of Black and Blue Butterflies
• the women who helped guide my journey and this project
• dispelling the stigma associated with suicide
• my background
• how metaphors can help us heal
• conversations with mothers who have lost a child to suicide
• personal reflections on making meaning of the loss of a child to suicide