The Unimaginable Grief -- Parents Bereaved by their Children’s Suicide

When we talk about suicide bereavement, we often think about the grief part of the response, but sometimes we forget that the experience of losing a loved one to suicide is also traumatic. When a parent loses a child to suicide, the complications of traumatic grief are frequently unparalleled. For many, their core beliefs about the world and themselves are shattered and the pieces take a while to pull back together — like “someone pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it into the (emotional) center of the family.”

In this interview we follow the journey of Dr. Sharon McDonnell. In 1990 she lost her brother to suicide, and she found herself on a ‘mission to move mountains.” Today she is a world leader in suicide bereavement research. Her dissertation was entitled, “Identifying the Experiences of Parents Bereaved by Suicide or Undetermined Death.” Listen to the lessons she has learned along the way.

More details, show notes, contact information and resources: https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/24