My Best Friend died by Suicide; His Lasting Impact

Explicit content warning

04/10/22 • 75 min

The Leftover Pieces; Suicide Loss Conversations

Today I talk to Nicolette Popa - or Nic as she is known to everyone who loves her. She is my son Alex's best friend ... so this one hits at home and is so very special for me to share. Nic shares her story and journey after suicide loss and how it has impacted her life every day since. You won't want to miss her story - she even shares her own personal story of coming out this past year as a lesbian and how that plays into her family life (as she is married with 2 sons). She recognizes how depression and suicide as ever-present in the LGBTQ+ community and feels like sharing her story can make an impact there as well. She is bold and brave and yet still soft and quishy! I love her so much and just know you will too.
You can find her dancing her way into everyone's heart at the link below on Tik Tok
Nicolette's TikTok account is amazingly real and unfiltered. I am so very proud of how she approaches her life with honesty and humor and great compassion. Alex would be so proud of her. I know he is looking in on her and her family often. AND - He would have LOVED TikTok!!
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My website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and that means my different SUPPORT SPACE Options are available and much more will be coming in 2022
Go DIRECTLY to my SUPPORT page here where yo9u will find ALL of the ways to connect and find support
My first two books (tools I am creating for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on Amazon
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:
The National Suicide Lifeline is there for you
IN a crisis you can also TEXT--->
TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA
in Canada TEXT 686868
in the UK TEXT 85258
And Grievers, I am always here. You can find me at The Leftover Pieces

Support the show

Support the show

Previous Episode

Suicide Can Happen in Any Family; A Mother's Humble Realization

Can it really happen to ANY family?? Unfortunately, many of us have discovered that answer. My guest in this episode knows this all too well herself.
Today I have a conversation with Janice "JJ" Joiner. JJ, aka "the catcher of babies" (certified nurse midwife) spent her career as a women’s healthcare provider, and is also a wife, mom, and “Honey” to her grandbabies! She says she now takes life "lone day at a time" since the loss of her beautiful son, Eric to mental illness that led to his suicide. JJ now hopes to work to help support others in this tragic space by normalizing the seeking of mental wellness just like we seek health for physical health. She shares her story openly with this goal at the forefront.
"...Born in Charleston WV, she grew up traveling throughout Europe. When JJ was only 11 she read "Cherry Ames- Student Nurse" and wanted to be a nurse from that point on! She started as a Labor & Delivery and after 14 years moved on to Nursing and Midwifery. She feels like she spent much of her career participating in and promoting the healthcare of women - her dream profession and along the way she and her (college sweetheart) husband built their own dream family - Katie, Eric, and JaneyGrace. By all accounts, her kids were easy-going and successful in everything they endeavored to do....yet, despite daily prayers for their happiness and safety in this big world, there came a day that she realized despite a life of serving people, delivering babies, volunteering and donating to charities...I was no better than anyone else in this world and my luck ran out and sadly it ran out on my boy..." - paraphrased straight from JJ
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My website "The Leftover Pieces; Rebuilding You" is LIVE and that means my different SUPPORT SPACE Options are available and much more will be coming in 2022
Go DIRECTLY to my SUPPORT page here where yo9u will find ALL of the ways to connect and find support
My first two books (tools I am creating for you!) in the "Facing Life After Suicide" series are available on Amazon
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts PLEASE reach out:
The National Suicide Lifeline is there for you
IN a crisis you can also TEXT--->
TEXT the word "HOME" to 741741 in the USA
in Canada TEXT 686868
in the UK TEXT 85258
And Grievers, I am always here. You can find me at The Leftover Pieces

Support the show

Next Episode

Finding Clarity After Suicide Loss; Is it Even Possible?

Today I go “down the rabbit hole” to talk about CLARITY. Defined it is the quality of being coherent and intelligible OR the quality of being clear and easy to understand. Seems important vs the alternative or the opposite-ambiguity unintelligible or dimness- qualities which I feel occupied much of the first years after loss and belong more to the Mad Hatter than Alice. How do we become Alice - well, the short answer is you have to go through Wonderland first.

Clarity comes up a lot for me these days so I thought maybe you would like to hear from me on WHY it matters. HOW do I find it? WHAT do I do with it? Because just like almost every other thing in our life now, our perspective- our ability to find, & clarify reasons- is now so different after the loss of our loved one by suicide.
Come with me “down the rabbit hole” every other week as I share my thoughts on topics surrounding life after suicide. On the other weeks, I release an episode where I have a conversation with a suicide loss survivor or perhaps an expert in a field connected to suicide loss.
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