Stay Alive.

While I was playing online the other day... Not research. As guilty of a pleasure it is, I still randomly do nothing on occasion. Well, I came across this remarkably moving story. It really moved me, to tears actually. There was this amazing poet,  Rachel Wetzsteon and she decided to end her life at only 42 years of age. How very sad and disappointing. Such talent is lost. Apparently there are a lot of talented people that go through a great deal of hardships. The story shared the sad misfortunate suicides of several poets including one of my favorites, Sylvia Plath. What I carried from the story wasn't the deaths... it was the incredible message delivered by a close friend of Rachel Wetzsteon. Writer Jennifer Michael Hecht has written some very powerful words and hopefully they will affect others losing the battle. Please read...

"I’m issuing a rule, you are not allowed to kill yourself. Some part of you doesn’t want to end it all, and I’m talking to her or him, to that part of you. I’m throwing you a rope, you don’t have to explain it to the monster in you, just tell the monster it can do whatever it wants, but not that. Later we’ll get rid of the monster, for now just hang on to the rope. I know that this means a struggle from one second to the next, let alone one day at a time. Know that the rest of us know that among the faces we have met there are some right now who can barely take another minute of the pain and uncertainty. And we are in the room with you, going from one moment to the next, in whatever condition you manage to do it. Sobbing and useless is great! Sobbing and useless is a million times better than dead. A billion times. Thank you for choosing sobbing and useless over dead... Don’t kill yourself. Suffer here with us instead. We need you with us, we have not forgotten you, you are our hero. Stay." - Jennifer Michael Hecht


I've attached the link for the story if you'd like to read it in full.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/01/a-call-to-poets-stay-alive.html


We all wrestle with demons.  Get mad. Be angry. Cry if you need to. No one is ever alone. Promise. M.