In today’s podcast I interview Scott and Brenda Ulinksi, whose son-in-law’s suicide deeply impacted and forever changed their family. This interview is one of the few times we have explored the impact of sudden death on the different generations of a family. We explore how Scott and Brenda supported their daughter, their grandchildren, and cared for their own grief after the suicide of their son-in-law. They share with us what it was like to interact with their son-in-law’s family, communicate about suicide within their own family, and how they rally around one another during grief.

Key Points:

Scott and Brenda describe how they are able to see identify signs of healing and growth, but the pain remains palable and raw as the family continues to live with Matt’s absence a little over a year from the day he took his life.

Scott and Brenda discuss how their grandchildren children continue to grow and even flourish.

Matt continues to live on in conversations and memories but these are not enough. Unanswered questions remain and the grief continues. His absence will always be felt.

This May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is providing guidance on how to connect someone who is hesistant to receive support. Their campaign, Talk Away The Dark, has educated people across the country on how to spot the warning signs for suicide and begin a conversation to let someone who needs support know about the resources that are available.

To learn more please visit asfp.org.

If you are in a crisis, call 988 or text “Talk” to 741741.

If you would like to see pictures of the Ulinski family, please join our Facebook group Talking About the Podcast Untethered with Dr. Levin.