Chapter 5: When death is from suicide

What do I tell my friends?



It turned out Maria was avoiding having conversations with people who she thought might ask her about her sister's death. That stopped once she felt she had the words to have the conversations or to politely shut them down.


Many people find it difficult to talk about suicide because of the stigma that still lingers in our society. You can help your children plan how they’ll respond to questions. Some possible responses include:
 

My dad died suddenly.

My mom died from suicide.

My sister was ill and died.

I don’t feel like talking about it. 

Please ask my mom and dad.