In anticipation of the new book, some reflections

I am expecting that tomorrow I will know when Rocky Roads: The Journeys of Families through Suicide Grief will ship. It’s been a bit of a weird time because I sort of feel like I’m between things. I’m working on some smaller projects since I can’t take on anything big (I leave for the American Association of Suicidology conference in two weeks followed by a trip to England to speak at the SOBS Support Day in Birmingham) until mid-May (yes, a new grief project is taking shape!). But it’s also been a time of reflection back nine years to the publication of Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven? Surviving the Suicide Loss of a Sibling. I keep thinking about how much has changed since I finished that book. My life for one. I look at where I am in the grief journey compared to then. I have had significant losses in my life since Bad Days was published and they have altered my perspective on loss. I have spoken all over the world, earned a doctorate, and traveled the routine life road (added four dogs for one!). But I have seen changes in the publishing world that have made Rocky Roads different. The Internet has changed since 2001 and there wasn’t Facebook or Twitter to build networks of people to share information about a new book. I have over 300 fans for the Rocky Roads Facebook fan. That isn’t a lot compared to mainstream books but it’s huge that over 300 people who care about the bereaved by suicide can become fans of something that will help them and/or they can pass along to someone they know who might need it. I have written here before about how the Internet has changed how we grieve but it’s also changed how we disseminate information in a way that I am grateful for. I remember wanting so badly to get my Bad Days into the hands of the people who needed it and now I feel like I’m several steps ahead of that by having access to more people. Of course, I’m sure it helps that I have also have access to people through being the president-elect of the American Association of Suicidology and because my contacts have expanded through my web sites like www.siblingsurvivors.com. No matter what it is, I’m grateful to have nine more years of experiences and connections to share that I hope will help families around the world grieve suicide loss.