The mug I’d chosen for the morning coffee today gave me today’s NewsCut Flashback — yeah, it’s going to be a thing for the next few months. I picked it up at Dog Mountain a few years ago, a place created first by a man and his love for dogs (specifically: his black lab, Sally). His widow, Gwen, worked hard to keep the place open. But in 2013, she killed herself, too.
Read more →
Brandon Truhlicka, of Fargo, apparently took his own life last Thursday and his family wasn’t afraid to talk about it, penning an obituary that appeared in area papers today. Read more →
Former NHL player Nick Boynton — an ‘enforcer’ in his days in hockey — penned what initially sounded very much like a suicide note today on The Players Tribune. Read more →
For sure, it’s become easier for people to talk about providing access to mental health care, too often talk is all it is. Politicians are failing Minnesotans on this issue and failing big. It’s a testament to the resiliency of people that some of them can navigate the roadblocks and fear that exists and get the help they need.
So Brian Murphy’s story should at least provide inspiration that it’s possible. Read more →
Chris Hawkey, a radio talk show host in the Twin Cities, is certainly doing his part to convince people — especially men — to talk about mental illness and depression. Read more →
Sergei Neubauer’s obituary doesn’t say so specifically, but his struggle, like most against depression and mental illness, was brave and courageous. His short life was amazing. And so too, obviously, were the two people in Iowa who agreed to be his parents when he was 11.
Read more →
At far too young of an age, students in Renville are learning a painful lesson about life: Sometimes, depression leads people to take their own life. Read more →
Want to see what courage looks like? This is what courage looks like. It’s Morgan Hubbard of West Des Moines, sharing her story of her journey with depression. She graduates from high school today. Read more →
In our growing collection, we’ve read plenty of powerful essays on the nature of mental health, depression, and suicide, but we’re hard pressed to recall one as powerful as that for Aletha Pinnow, who took her own life in Duluth last month.
Read more →
While reading the obituary today of Lucas David Ronnei of Victoria, Minn., we realized where the young man got the courage in his struggle against depression and addiction. It was in his DNA, inherited from a family that wrote one of the most powerful obituaries we’ve ever read.
Read more →
Julio Salazar has struggled with depression for most of his life but it was only a few years ago that he sought help. This week he’s running across Minnesota to raise awareness of mental illness and the availability of that help. Read more →
Especially in his frenetic appearances on late-night TV, it was difficult watching Robin Williams. Anyone who has battled depression or had a loved one tortured by it knew that his genius came from a dark place. Read more →
What drives people to suicide? Some insight. Read more →
Bob Collins