Surviving Suicide {Day FIVE} 38th Annual National Suicide Prevention Week

Today is day FIVE of the 38th Annual National Suicide Prevention Week (September 9th-15th). The topic of the day is surviving suicide.

Two words come to mind when I hear the name Alycia Neighbours. Two. Crayon Wrangler. She used to author the blog, Coloring Outside the Lines, and it is how I came to know her.

It was at Coloring Outside the Lines that I learned of her story. The story of how she became a widow at the age of 35. Her husband of 12 years took his own life. Widowed through suicide.

Alycia's marriage wasn't a happy one. Her husband suffered from mental illness and Alycia suffered the physical,  mental, and emotional abuse at his hand. She was tired of just being and soon an event arose, which led Alycia to remove herself and her three daughters from the family home. Then she filed for divorce.

Her husband had visitation rights to their daughters and she was forced to deliver them to him at the local police station. It was in those moments when Alycia's husband hassled her into coming back to him. He coaxed her with money, gifts, and empty promises. She stood her ground and didn't go back to her abuser.

Two days prior to their divorce being final, Alycia's husband took his own life. Without warning. Her life was immediately thrown into her worst nightmare.

Alycia was already amid the events of picking her life back up and making it special for herself and her daughters. Now she had to deliver the dreadful news to her daughters, all under the age of five.

Alycia has written a memoir of the events leading up to, during, and after this life changing event. Deciding to Dance is the story of loss. It takes the reader through the stages of grief and makes it three dimensional.

I read Deciding to Dance in one sitting. It held my attention from the start and there were several points within the book where I had to take a breath and wipe away my tears. I was learning from Alycia's viewpoint, how selfish it is to commit suicide and leave behind a family who didn't know how far gone you were. That you thought this was the only way... It reminds me that I am still here; that I didn't give up.

I urge you to read this memoir, especially if you're considering suicide. It will grab you by the throat and make you understand that it's not the way.

Alycia is a survivor. Of suicide...Of life...And {In her own words}, her life is currently, "perfectly imperfect".

"Polite words are used for those who had no choice but to leave this world. He had a choice and to me he did not “pass” or “expire.” He was just “dead.” 

-Alycia Neighbours, Deciding to Dance

Alycia Neighbours is the author of the memoir Deciding to Dance and her daily blog The Diary of "And Frankly..." Keep a lookout for her future releases "Wake Up In The Mourning" due to release November 2012, "On Life's Stage" set to release January 2013, and "Crayon Scraps" releasing March 2013.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Deciding to Dance during its free release period on Amazon.com. All opinions of the memoir are my own. It really did hit home for me.