Comments: Dear Denise, I want to thank you again for all of your hard work in Break the Silence. I received the wristbands and bumper stickers today (thank you!) and I will put them to good use. In January I returned to work on a college campus after taking a five-year maternity leave. In the six months since my return, we have lost two students to suicide. Each time I received the news of a suicide at my school, my grief detonated. No matter how hard I try to suppress it, the pain and loss of my sweet sister-in-law Laura Kliebenstein wrenches through me. While everyone else murmers about the details, I am the one in the office who immediately starts crying only to eventually end up in the bathroom, gripping the sink, weeping for the student, the family (and what they are about to endure), and for my own personal loss of Laura. I spend hours trying to write even the shortest of sympathy cards to these families. In tiny white spaces I craft my words carefully as I share Laura's story and some words of encouragement in coping with suicide...a grief that is endless, expounding far beyond the limits of a Sympathy card. I seal these cards and mail them with a heavy heart, praying that by some miracle my words were able to convey the love and hope that I so heavily charged them with. In spite of my time and effort, without fail, everytime I mail one it feels pathetically inadequate. Yet it's what I do, everytime. And it is what you and everyone else who has lost someone so precious, so tragically, does. We are the ones who demand more space, more words to attempt to express and reach out through the very black hole of suicide. We will continue to shout, even if the world only hears whispers. And I will keep trying. I will keep writing my letters and carrying my message until the day arrives when I no longer receive the news of a student's suicide via memo. Please take care and keep in touch. You and your family are in my prayers. Love, Krista
Comments: I lost my sister Barbara to suicide at Boston's McLean's Hospital while on suicide watch April 5 or 6, 1980. It was Easter Sunday weekend. We have never felt we were treated with respect or empathy during telephone conversations informing us of her near death and eventual death. We never felt that McLean's staff took responsibility for her suicide. Barbara was 27 and this occurred nearly 30 years ago.
Comments: Laura Amber Kliebenstein - reading these entries breaks my heart for you and your family. This is such a sad story, with an even sadder, tragic and avoidable ending. May you rest in peace.
Comments: I am so very sorry to read of the loss of your brother. I think your site is a wonderful testimonial to the love you feel for him still. I must say, I was incredibly saddened to see what I found on your site. I was searching for my former counselor, Doug Dodge. I haven't seen or heard of him since the mid 1990s, when I moved to Va. My life has changed considerably since then, and I wanted to update him. Let me tell you up front, I know nothing about the Meadows. Doug was my counselor in Nevada. If it was not for this man, I don't know if I would be writing you today. He treated me in a women's group setting. Later, he referred me to a woman counselor when he thought we had gone as far as we could in therapy. I guess I just wanted to share with you, that the work I did with him provided me with the foundation I needed to thrive today. I have no doubt, that if I lost a sibling to suicide, that I would turn over every stone trying to get a picture of how this could have happened. I understand how frustrating it is to try and make sense out of something so tragic and senseless. I hope someday you can find your peace.
Comments: I just found you on accident. Denise was a friend of mine and I am really shocked and saddened to hear of these details surrounding her passing. Good luck to you in your efforts and may god bless you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss. |
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