In today’s podcast I interview Susan Auerbach who shares the struggles her son Noah encountered before his suicide in 2013. Susan discusses the impact of Noah’s death on the different relationships in her life and how she coped with traumatic grief early after his death. Susan also reflects on the 11 years since his death and describes the different milestones that have occurred in her grieving process, and how her grief and her identity in grief has evolved over time.

Key Points:

If you are living with a loss like Susan’s you know time does not heal traumatic grief. But, as she described, time did provide clairity, perspective, and continues to move her towards healing. 

Susan worked hard to process her grief experiences. Her grief work included EMDR, writing, support groups, and learning what worked for her and what did not.

Although every grief experience is unique, I have interviewed many individuals living with long term traumatic grief, who are also able to attest to the continued evolution of their grief and how they have also experienced decreases in the intensity symptoms over time.

If you would like to reach out to Susan, please join our Facebook group Talking About the Podcast Untethered with Dr. Levin. We have included an article about EMDR which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. There is also a link to Susan’s book, I Will Write Your Name on Every Beach: A Mother’s Quest for Comfort, Courage, and Clarity After Suicide Loss, and a link to her blog Walking the Mourner’s Path After a Child’s Suicide.