At the difficult age of 16, Carl David suffered the loss of his 22-year-old brother.  A chapter of his story was brought to you in a previous article, I felt it was important to bring you more of Carl’s story.

He recalled, “The suicide of my brother impacted our family in a myriad of ways but we ultimately found our way back to daylight with the help of our family, friends and professional help. It is human instinct to survive. We don't forget or get over it; we just learn to live with it as best we can. This kind of lacerating experience becomes part of our soul, embedding itself into our very psyche. Our unconscious keeps a permanent record of every moment of our life and reminds us of them vigorously when we try to erase or repress them.

We realized after a period of time that life does go on, with us or without us and that we had to forge on and live for ourselves and for my brother.  He'd have wanted that and we knew that whatever the cause that pushed him to that final edge of desperation, if he'd known the pain that his loss would cause he never would have ended his life.”

Carl’s message, “Kids need to know that no matter what, no matter how desperate they feel, that they are loved, that there is help for them and that suicide is never ever the answer. It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Life is a gift and every day we wake up is a blessing. No matter the difficulty, we get a redo. We have the luxury of choice in how we will spend our time and what we will do with it.”

He described his heightened parental awareness, “As a father my perspective had became ever more profound. While our children were growing up, the haunts of the past were always there and our caution flags were always on guard. We never spoke of my brother's death until they were of sufficient age to understand and not freak out, as this is a very sensitive issue. We needed to let them know, almost as insurance, so that by understanding the degree of destruction such an act leaves on a family, that they would never even consider it.”

Carl’s closing word’s, “I am on a mission to save lives, even one!”

Visit David’s Author’s Speaking Page for more information.