i met Walter Crumpler and his wife Megan at our event in Charlottesville, Virginia last week. Walter shared that he had lost his sister Emily to suicide one year ago that night. He showed me a picture of the two of them together. There were tears in his eyes as he spoke of her life. He kept using the word “remember”, that he wanted people to remember her, that he wanted people to know her story. He thanked us for the work we’re doing with TWLOHA, this talking about things that people don’t talk about, letting people know they’re not alone.
Walter and Megan were married just a few weeks ago in Florida, a wedding on the sand at Clearwater Beach. At a typical wedding, the bride throws her bouquet of flowers and a single friend will catch it and everyone smiles at the possibility that this person might be next to marry. It’s an easy moment and it points to the future. At Walter and Megan’s wedding, Megan did not throw her flowers. She handed them to Walter’s mother, in honor of Emily. She did this to remember, to say that someone was missing on this beautiful day, and perhaps also to say that as a family and as a community, they continue together.
Tomorrow is for everyone who’s lost someone to suicide. It is a day to say that their life mattered and it is remembered, and perhaps it is a day to say that we continue together, learning life is better less alone.
Peace to you.
jamie