“A book is a suicide postponed.”
In 2013 Ireland ranked 6th compared to other EU countries for suicide in 15-19 year olds. This is a frightening statistic for such a small country.
Create Space
Hi... failte (Irish for welcome! and pronounced fall-thhha). I'm a newbie to blogging, here just over a year, but what a great year it has been! I've turned the corner to 50 recently and two things become more relevant...time and experiences! Material possessions are less important! Using time wisely and truly experiencing each day holds a new significance for me! If you wish..., a little of the back story... I''m blessed to be married to a kind and loving man for 28 years, we have two children now 19 and 21. As I approached 40 and searching for something more, whilst holding down my then part-time legal secretarial work, I trained as a voluntary adult literacy tutor, with the hope of helping adults improve their literacy skills and have a second, and better experience of learning! However, little did I think that wanting to help others improve their lives would see my own life improve beyond measure also! You see for years I found it difficult to know what to do as I watched our two children suffer at the hands of bullies. Their struggle began to change when I returned to education! Through education I slowly gained valuable knowledge, I grew in confidence and self-esteme and it had a ripple effect! By 2014, aged 47 I had completed a Higher Certificate in Literacy Development and a B.A. in Adult Education. I love my work as an adult educator, particularly when adults trust me enough to let down their defences and 'let me in'. Then I can help them by getting to know what makes them 'tic' and what 'lights their fire!'. As an added bonus along the way I've realised that I also have a love of writing and that writing is cathartic (providing psychological relief through written expression of built up emotions), both for my students and myself. This blog enables me to pursue that new-found interest and I've really enjoying reading your blogs, sharing comments, getting to know so many people and gaining new perspectives. I also like to share any little 'gems' of learning I've gathered along the way! Thanks for sharing your stories and for helping me realise that it is all possible...and that together we write a truly better story! Much love, Marie x
December 23, 2017 at 12:47 am
Good Evening, This is such a lovely post about concern towards one another, that I just simply admire. You’re a good soul. 🙂
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December 23, 2017 at 1:15 am
Good night from Ireland 1.12am to be exact approaching Christmas eve! Thanks for visiting and sharing your affirming thoughts! I really appreciate them Beckie!
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December 23, 2017 at 1:23 am
Merry Christmas to you! Tell Santa not to forget visiting New Jersey, USA. LOL!
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December 23, 2017 at 1:18 am
I think it is awesome too!
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December 23, 2017 at 6:17 am
Thank you TL…I am glad you think so! Thanks for commenting!
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December 23, 2017 at 10:57 am
Thanks for this. It’s important to reach out to people and not forget those who’re having trouble coping with loneliness during the holidays.
If anyone reading this doesn’t have people who will care about you in your real life circle of acquaintances, don’t give up! Loneliness is usually temporary. In the meantime, blog, tweet, Facebook–anything you can to connect. Humans need to do this or we wouldn’t have social media. Real life connections will follow if you work at them. Promise. 🙂
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December 23, 2017 at 10:58 am
Shoot–somehow this got attached to the wrong post. Could you move it to the correct one for me? Thanks. 🙂
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December 23, 2017 at 11:40 am
Hi Cathleen, what post do you want it moved to?
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December 23, 2017 at 8:58 pm
Marie, great blog post because it is so important to stay connected especially during the holidays. Sometimes people are good at masking their feelings/depression and then suddenly there’s an attempt or success and another light extinguishes…so sad.
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December 23, 2017 at 10:48 pm
Thank you Janie for adding your sincere thoughts! We become too good at keeping our mask in place and less adept at looking past the masks others present, missing out on the subtle signs of distress. You put it beautifully…’another light extinguishes’. Thanks for visiting!
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December 25, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Thank you so much for writing such a poignant post. It touched my heart. I think many of us have been tinged by suicide and it’s never easy to wrap our brains/hearts around the situation when it happens. xo
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December 28, 2017 at 6:06 pm
Thank you for posting. Very said that in Ireland where I think resides the world of words there is a high suicide rate but then again, the Irish do feel perhaps too much. Thanks for sharing. I often thought my father had it much easier as a Swede.
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December 28, 2017 at 7:35 pm
Hi Cupcakecache, thanks for visiting, reading and commenting. I’m glad this has resonated with you. I agree with your comment, we are an emotional people, very caring but I think while we are good at talking in general we are not necessarily good at discussing sensitive topics…women will open up to women friends but men are more reserved. There has been a proactive move in the last few years to destigmatise mental health and promote reaching out and asking for help. Maybe we could learn from men like your father and Swedes in general?
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January 1, 2018 at 9:47 pm
Such a great post. The WP community has been a massive help to me in my own recovery this year.
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January 1, 2018 at 10:00 pm
Exactly what I thought was the case for so many bloggers Darren! We need connections, we need to feel we count, that we have something to contribute, we need to commit, be involved and lastly we need courage, to put ourselves out there, to share, to support each other, to grow and face our struggles and build our resillience! Thanks for commenting and your honesty and keep blogging!!
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January 1, 2018 at 10:15 pm
Absolutely. I am quite open about my own attempted suicide at 17. This resource did not exist then.
The power of this community to ease loneliness is astounding. The chances of finding like minded people to bond with is exponentially better with such a big pool of wonderful souls than it ever was in the insular little town I grew up in.
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January 1, 2018 at 11:11 pm
Absolutely and in a nutshell and I would add openminded and non-judgemental people abound here!
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January 1, 2018 at 11:12 pm
Hence my confidence in talking about it 😀
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