This weekend thousands of Offaly people will get up in the middle of the night and go to Banagher, Tullamore and Edenderry to participate in the Darkness Into Light fundraiser for Pieta House.
The event is on Saturday, May 12th, at 4.15am – that’s very, very early on Saturday morning. Everyone is welcome to participate. However, children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Click here to find your venue. On the page of your venue you will find the costs to participate in Darkness Into Light.
All information can be found on the website http://dil.pieta.ie or, alternatively, on the Pieta House Facebook page or Facebook page of your chosen venue. Please keep an eye out as information will be updated all the time. If there is something specific you need to ask, and you can’t find it online, then feel free to email: dil@pieta.ie
Why Walk…
Pieta House has a vision to create a world where suicide, self-harm and stigma have been replaced by hope, self-care and acceptance.
Darkness into Light is vital for their fundraising, for raising awareness and for bringing people together as they do everything they can to bring about a suicide-free world.
Surviving Suicide Loss Books
Many people find comfort in reading about the experiences and thoughts of others. Offaly libraries have a large selection of books that you can borrow. Listed below are sample of the books about suicide bereavement which you may find helpful.
I’ll write your name on every beach : a mother’s quest for comfort, courage and clarity after suicide loss / Susan Auerbach
Written by a mother who lost her 21 year old son to suicide, this book deals with the themes of suicide loss through the lens of the author’s personal grief. Addressing the process of post-traumatic growth, this memoir provides the bereaved with therapy exercises and creative activities to help them come to terms with their loss.
Although it deals directly with losing a child, much of the book pertains to grief generally, especially complicated grief after a sudden death, and thus provides comfort to any reader who has lost a close one to suicide or anyone interested in young people struggling with mental health. Organised thematically, it addresses the many issues and stages involved in the grieving process and ends each chapter with a variety of beneficial yoga, breathing and therapy activities. This allows readers to dip in and out of the book, and go at their own pace – replicating the fact that grief is not a linear journey but an iterative one that goes back and forth. This book is a lifeline for anyone struggling to process loss.
Request it here
A special scar : the experiences of people bereaved by suicide / Alison Wertheimer. / Alison Wertheimer
A Special Scar looks in detail at the stigma surrounding suicide and offers practical help for survivors, relatives and friends of people who have taken their own life. Fifty bereaved people tell their own stories, showing us that, by not hiding the truth from themselves and others, they have been able to learn to live with the suicide, offering hope to others facing this traumatic loss.
This new edition will continue to be an invaluable resource for survivors of suicide as well as for all those who are in contact with them, including police and coroner’s officers, bereavement services, self-help organisations for survivors, mental health professionals, social workers, GPs, counsellors and therapists. Request it here
A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies/ Anne McCracken and Mary Semel, 1999, Hazeldon Publications
This anthology of poetry, fiction, and essays compiled from the literature of loss and grief is remarkable. The authors have included pieces from everyone from William Shakespeare to Dwight D. Eisenhower whose works explore the shock, the grief, and the search for meaning that come with the death of a child. Each piece is clearly introduced explaining the details surrounding the person’s loss. Request it here
Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide / Beverly Cobain & Jean Larch, Hazeldon, 2006
Excellent healing guide for survivors of suicide. Recognizing that grief work is personal and unique in each individual, this book is recommended as a beacon of hope and understanding to those who have suffered the pain and loss of a loved one to suicide. Request it here
Offaly Libraries Blog 