Shaping Families

Survivors

“[Survivor’s guilt is] inevitable and it doesn’t make any difference that the families may have been wonderful families, completely loving, done everything they could possibly do. Still people feel like , if I had only done this, if I had only done that…”  - Dr. Kay Jamison

Listen - Transcript - Study Guide

Frog Hollow

read by Sam Heatwole

Back when I went to Sunday school in Canada, Reverend MacDonald wasn't able to get through to the kids in his parish. The girls, it seems to me, accepted most adults for what they were and took at least some of their advice to heart. But the boys figured official sin was a shuck, and as a consequence didn't know how to handle it. That's why we needed guilt, and why the Rev wanted the boys in his church to feel the weight of shame whether they fully understood the wages of sin or not. 

Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, Director of the Moods Disorder Center at Johns Hopkins University

Books
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness – Kay Redfield Jamison. Kay’s memoir of her own struggle with mood disorders.

Frog Hollow Journal

Video
Fierce Goodbye: Living in the Shadow of Suicide
Third Way Media’s television documentary about suicide and those left behind.  

Website
Fierce Goodbye Listed Resources: Resources from the documentary.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK

Video
Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness
This program offers an inside look at what it is like to live with a mental illness and how individuals and their families find their way through medical, governmental, societal and spiritual issues.

Online
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – Survivors of Suicide Site

American Association of Suicidology—Survivors Support Site

National Alliance on Mental Illness—find your local chapter

NIMH Information Site on Bipolar Disorder

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Books
No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One – Carla Fine

Aftershock: Help, Hope, and Healing in the Wake of Suicide – Candy Neely Arrington

Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide – Beverly Cobain Beverly

Support
National Board of Certified Counselors
Find a Licensed Professional Counselor

American Psychological Association
Find a Psychologist

Survivors

In her book, An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison tells her story of living with bipolar illness and the multiple suicide attempts it precipitated. This week on Shaping Families her focus is on suicide itself, and on those left behind when suicide happens.

For many of us, the day Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City building is etched in our minds. For Bud Welch, it was the day he lost his daughter in that bombing. On our next episode we'll hear from Bud about his journey toward healing and forgiveness that eventually led him into the living room of McVeigh's family home.

No Bake Bars

Busy moms are always in search of quick, colorful and fun recipes to make for and with their children.  Our shipping clerk, Lois, shares a recipe for bars that are a favorite in her family and are sure to be a hit with your children, too.

• Shaping Families Update - May 12
• Shaping Families Update - May 5
• Shaping Families Update - April 28
• Shaping Families Update - April 21

The Shaping Families free offer from this week’s program is no longer available. Visit our online store at www.MennoMedia.org/store if you would like to purchase the item offered. Some items are not offered on the store.