William Wordsworth experienced much loss in his life. His parents died when he was an adolescent, and several of his own children died when they…
“When you lie inside of darkness, it’s hard to see.” The song “i. Flight of the Navigator” by Donald Glover, also known by his stage…
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist of Haitian-Puerto Rican parentage whose art reflected his obsession with capturing the dualities of life and the broader social…
Legendary poet, songwriter, novelist, and musician, Leonard Cohen died in November 2016. Known for his melancholy tones, as well as his thought-provoking and deeply emotive…
For their sixth studio album, Unstoppable, Rascal Flatts wrote “Why”, a powerful, slow-tempo, country song about a friend’s suicide. The song’s narrator reflects on the…
‘The Suicide of Dorothy Hale’ is considered one of the most controversial paintings by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The piece depicts the suicide of…
“Don’t tell your Uber driver that you’re going to an orgy”—so begins Donte Collins’ poem “Grief Puppet”. Collins describes the experience of seeing his dead…
“As far back as I can remember, Michael was always good at being silly. He could make me laugh harder than anyone. He was very…
Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905 – 2004) was an American poet who is recognized for her first and perhaps only poem “Do Not Stand at My…
“I have stage 3 cancer; my friend has stage 1—which is like a pimple.” On her personal blog, Debbie Woodbury, a woman diagnosed with Stage…
Anna R. was having an ultrasound, prepared to see her baby for the first time. When she asked the technician what the sex of the…
When a father loses a child, his grief can sometimes be eclipsed by that of the mother’s. This poem by Eileen Knight Hagemeister describes how…
This song describes Neil Young’s grief from watching his friend and bandmate Danny Whitten fall into heroin addiction and die from an overdose. Image Credit…
‘Whiskey Lullaby’, performed by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, is a song about loneliness, heartbreak, and alcohol abuse.With lyrics like, “The put him out like…
In his TedTalk entitled “The Bridge Between Suicide and Life” Kevin Briggs speaks about his experience patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, a…
In “The Story of Ryan Anderson”, NBA star Ryan Anderson, talks candidly about losing his girlfriend to suicide in 2013. In the video, he discusses…
In the 1960s, guitarist/songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel wrote a song about suicide. On their surface, the lyrics explain that severe loneliness and…
At the age of three, Gale started to challenge gender norms, insisting on wearing dresses and tiaras, by age four sobbing at his mirror image…
John Mayer’s “Stop This Train” beautifully captures the songwriter’s existential crisis, stemming from his fear of growing old. The vocalist feels life is moving too fast…
The defendant entered the courtroom, giving a thumbs-up to the judges and clapping mockingly at the spectators watching from a glass-walled gallery. His name: Ratko…
