I was moved by fellow bloggers John McManamy’s tribue to his friend, Kevin, who commit suicide just six months ago. John has channelled his grief by producing an important suicide prevention video “The Road to Nowhere.” I urge you to visit his post by clicking here. I’ve excerpted a few paragraphs below.

[Kevin] had his setbacks, his dark moments. Yet, over time – in group, over coffee, over sandwiches, hanging out – I watched him blossom. With his extraordinary people skills, the sky was the limit. 

In late 2006, my marriage broke up. Kevin was the first to offer me support. He also reached out to Susan.

Suddenly, I had my life in seven or eight FedEx cartons and a one-way ticket to San Diego. I popped into the DBSA group one last time. Kevin was facilitating. He gave me a heartfelt tribute. I felt the goodness in the man. Goodness, true goodness. That was the last time I saw him alive.

He had so much to live for, so much to offer. Yet, on a miserable muggy New Jersey morning, his brain tricked him into believing otherwise. Six months later, Susan and I, plus all those he left behind, are still dealing with it.

I’ve been suicidal. So has Susan. We fully understand, yet – we totally don’t understand.

My way of coping was this suicide prevention video, “The Road to Nowhere.” The message is simple: Don’t be fooled. You are really somewhere. I shot it two or three weeks after the horrible news.

Kevin, you still shine a light on the world. Nothing – nothing – is ever going to extinguish it.

To continue reading, and to see John’s video, click here.

To read more Beyond Blue, go to http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyond_blue, and to get to Group Beyond Blue, a support group at Beliefnet Community, click here.

To subscribe to “Beyond Blue” click here.