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Forever Young: A Mother's Story of Life After Suicide by Sharon Truesdale with Sue Leonard

Mental health, suicide, grief, loss, self care, support, support after suicide, affected by suicide, memoir mental health, mother’s story, Sharon tresdale, sue leonard
About the Book
“Forever Young A Mother's Story of Life after Suicide” by Sharon Truesdale with Sue Leonard is a book about finding a new way to live after the loss of a loved one to suicide.

With affecting, heartfelt writing, Sharon Truesdale shares about her experience with the grieving process after her son, seventeen-year-old Matthew Truesdale, took his own life. This is a powerful story of loss, sadness, hope, and moving forward. Truesdale shares her  most personal feelings, thoughts and behaviors with the hope that her story will help others and help break the stigma attached to mental health illness and suicide.

This book would be an important read for a wide range of people, from people with mental health illness to those affected by suicide or anyone who just wants to learn more about mental health. In a recent author interview, Truesdale shares her personal experience of working through her grieving process by reading books, attended a Bereaved by Suicide support group. worked with a counselor for nine months,  and joining online support groups. Additionally, Truesdale speaks about learning mindfulness to help her understand the new place where she was in life. 

The main lesson from Truesdale's journey was learning self-love, kindness, forgiveness, and self-care to help with existing in the present and not dwelling in the past. A main component of Truesdale's story is celebrating Matthew's life, which she does in part by meeting up with Matthew's friends on his anniversary and on his birthday, sharing stories, and spending time remembering Matthew. Additionally, Matthew's Facebook has become a memorial page and where loved ones share memories, photos and thoughts to Matthew and with each other.

In a recent interview, Truesdale said her advice for someone who has been affected by suicide is to "TALK, TALK, TALK  to friends, family, anyone. You do not have to suffer in silence or be alone. There are services out there who can help. If you try one and you haven’t connected with it, try another. Find one that fits." Truesdale also recommends those supporting someone affected by suicide to "Listen without judgement and without feeling the need to advise. Just be there."

The most powerful aspect of the book is Truesdale's authenticity. She does an excellent job of allowing the reader to see her perspective and learn from her experience.  Whether you've been affected by suicide, have issues with mental health, or just would like to learn more about mental health, then you definitely need to check out "Forever Young: A Mother's Story of Life After Suicide" by Sharon Truesdale with Sue Leonard.

Book Description
When seventeen-year-old Matthew Truesdale took his own life, his devastated mother, Sharon, had to find a new way to live. The grieving process was unexpectedly hard – and there were times she feared she was losing her mind. It wasn’t until she learned to give herself love, that life became bearable again. Through recounting this, and celebrating her son’s short life, Sharon hopes to give hope to everyone who had been affected by suicide.


More Information
Buy the book on Amazon.






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