What do you do when a loved one commits suicide? What do you do? How do you pick up the pieces? How do you recover? How do you make sense of it all? If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, author and speaker, Ganel-Lyn Condie, has some heartfelt advice.
When A Loved One Commits Suicide
When Ganel-Lyn learned about her sister’s suicide, she said it felt “like a bowling ball smashed into my heart, then fell with a thud to my stomach.” She says that the grief caused by suicide is “a different kind of grief.” It lingers, tears at the heart, and creates questions that lead to a very dark place.
And yet, in the time since her sister’s suicide, Ganel-Lyn has learned some powerful insights about healing and moving forward. While there are no quick remedies for grief, it is Ganel-Lyn’s firm belief “that hope is never lost.”
Ganel-Lyn Condie is the author of I Can Do Hard Things With God, and devotes much of her time to speaking and writing about hope. She and I connected through an article she had written last year (4 Lessons of Hope I Learned From My Sister’s Suicide) and we quickly became friends. Her insights about having faith and hope amid life’s challenges are incredible, to say the least. In the summer of 2015, I drove 12 hours (through the night) just to interview her—and I’m so grateful I did.
Below is a portion of my interview with Ganel-Lyn. If you are struggling with grief related to suicide, please take the time to watch this video. As someone who has struggled with feelings of hopelessness, I found a lot of comfort in the words of Ganel-Lyn.
Through this tragedy I have learned that love never fails. I have also seen life from a perspective I never before considered. Be kind to one another. Listen to someone’s plea with a non judging ear as they, and often you, struggle to come to an understanding of life with the circumstances as the appear at the time. Have faith in the bigger picture. I know God lives and I know that Ganel is exercising her faith and belief in a God that loves her, Meg, me, and us all. Thank you for this sweet, personal video.