The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations
You have found a podcast about surviving life after a suicide loss, which is nothing short of devastating, leaving you not knowing how to begin picking up the leftover pieces of your shattered heart. The host, Melissa Bottorff-Arey, who lost her 21-year-old son Alex to suicide on August 7, 2016, speaks to this from her own experiences. You will hear her have honest, hard conversations with other loss survivors, healers, and mental health experts on the podcast. She also produces shorter, solo episodes where she shares her own thoughts & experiences in this journey (thus far). She explores relevant topics and asks the hard questions. Nothing is 'off limit' as she delves into all areas of this grief, such as trauma, hope, healing, self-care, legacy & stigma. Melissa believes we learn to live alongside our grief, not get over it. We can make a difference only through authentic, meaningful connections and mindful choices. For a supporter or educator, these conversations hold nuggets of awareness and shine a spotlight on suicide and grief honestly and unapologetically. As a suicide loss griever, one can find the comfort of a community and hope for a little brighter tomorrow. Melissa wants to help others, like herself, go from surviving to finding a life with meaning, maybe even happiness, amid their own leftover pieces.
[Please NOTE: This podcast is for only relational, informational, and entertainment purposes. It candidly and openly discusses sensitive and sometimes activating topics. There will be no in-depth or graphic descriptions of the method, but merely the possible mention of suicide, murder, rape, and the like. Be guided and care for yourself accordingly. Also, Melissa is not a doctor or licensed therapist, and nothing on this podcast should be taken in place of, or as, medical/mental health advice or recommendations.]
The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations
Finding Clarity After Suicide Loss; Is it Even Possible?
Today I go “down the rabbit hole” to talk about CLARITY. Defined it is the quality of being coherent and intelligible OR the quality of being clear and easy to understand. Seems important vs the alternative or the opposite-ambiguity unintelligible or dimness- qualities which I feel occupied much of the first years after loss and belong more to the Mad Hatter than Alice. How do we become Alice - well, the short answer is you have to go through Wonderland first.
Clarity comes up a lot for me these days so I thought maybe you would like to hear from me on WHY it matters. HOW do I find it? WHAT do I do with it? Because just like almost every other thing in our life now, our perspective- our ability to find, & clarify reasons- is now so different after the loss of our loved one by suicide.
Come with me “down the rabbit hole” every other week as I share my thoughts on topics surrounding life after suicide. On the other weeks, I release an episode where I have a conversation with a suicide loss survivor or perhaps an expert in a field connected to suicide loss.
_______________________________________________
My website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and that means my different SUPPORT SPACE Options are available and much more will be coming in 2022
Go DIRECTLY to my SUPPORT page here where yo9u will find ALL of the ways to connect and find support
My first two books (tools I am creating for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on Amazon
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:
The National Suicide Lifeline is there for you
IN a crisis you can also TEXT--->
TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA
in Canada TEXT 686868
in the UK TEXT 85258
And Grievers, I am always here. You can find me at The Leftover Pieces