Dear Friends and Family,

This Week’s Feature: “One Storm and a Thousand Flowers”

“In life, often times, a storm may come out of nowhere. Even if you check the weather and the news calls for clear skies, weather is unpredictable. Life is the same way. While I knew that my mom, Tonya Moore Young, was facing a few challenges, no umbrella would suffice to protect me from the storm that was ahead of me. Losing her to suicide was something no one could have prepared me for. For my family and I, this storm came out of nowhere. I was unfamiliar with suicide, had no inclination that my mother was this severely depressed, and felt so many emotions that flooded over me. It was a season of time where it felt like every day was a rain shower.

Two years later, on my journey today, I still see the rain when I reflect on that season. The uneasy decisions, raw emotions, and pure sadness were very real. However, what I also embrace are the thousands of flowers that came from that storm. I now encourage survivors of suicide loss to comfort the same wound I suffered from. My family and I have spearheaded a host of many opportunities to spread suicide awareness, and so many other things. The woman I have become came from that storm. So, while I cannot predict the next storm, I know that after it, flowers will certainly bloom.”