Before Their Time

A collection of first-person accounts by daughters and sons affected by parental suicide, Before Their Time is the first work to present adult children survivors' accounts of their loss, grief, and resolution. Examining the common difficulties associated with losing a loved one by suicide, this book looks at the difficulties specific to the survivor's status as both adult and child.From having experienced the tragedy of parental suicide within the past few years to having dealt with it for nearly twenty-five years, the contributors to this volume range in age from nineteen to thirty-six. Their essays speak openly about fears, stresses, and methods of coping. Topics explored include coping with such loss through humor and the effects of parental suicide on adult children's personal and professional choices, marriages and parenting, and sibling and surviving parent relationships.With a foreword by the Founder and Director of Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide, Rev. Charles Rubey, Before Their Time also includes a resource section that offers a national listing of suicide survivor support groups; an overview of existing research on survivors of suicide by John L. McIntosh, former President of the American Association of Suicidology; and an essay on elderly suicide by Secretary-General of International Association for Suicide and Crisis Editor-in-Chief David C. Clark.

Foreword Rev. Charles T. Rubey Preface Acknowledgments Part I: Loss of a Mother Daughters A Joyful Spirit Treva Gordon Home and Beyond Stephanie Weber Center Piece Kimberley Garnhart Changes of Direction Marcia Angelos Sons Caretaking Doug Battema The Prodigal Son Diaries Todd Tobias Crossroads Tom Dalton Range of Vision Mark Stringer Intermezzo Grandchildren Suicide as Family Destiny? Part II: Loss of a Father Daughters Old at Heart Heather Zuzick Growing toward the Light Wanda Ford-Petrevics A Saving Curse Suzanne Gardner I Will Not Die of Regret: A Letter to My Father Greacian Goeke Sons Of Fathers and Sons John F. The Process of Cultivating Paul J. Flying Lessons James A. Gessner Intermezzo Professional Life Life without a Parent Part III: Perspectives on a Common Loss Daughters Uncommon Grace Mary Stimming Endings and Beginnings Maureen Stimming Sons It's the Story of a Lovely Lady Christopher Stimming What Life Has to Offer Joseph Stimming Part IV: Research and Resources The Puzzle of Suicide in Late Life David C. Clark Research on Survivors of Suicide John L. McIntosh Selected Annotated Bibliography Directory of Suicide Survivor Support Groups Index