“I’m done. I can’t take it any longer.” she said. “I’ve suffered from depression and anxiety since I was a teen, and I simply cannot do it any longer.” This call arrived many years into my tenure on the suicide hotline, so I was not surprised by its beginning. It was how the call ended …
At first, it ended tragically. At a recent Operation Snowball* retreat, the teens wrote a skit entitled “Asking for Help.” In the first performance, one of the teens was struggling mightily with challenges life mercilessly hurled in her path. Despite her overwhelming heartbreak and pain, she never asked for help. Those around her, even if …
It’s time again for resolutions, but in this moment, it is not New Year’s resolutions I seek. I am, instead, in a quandary about New Epoch’s resolutions. What might I resolve as we enter what many geologists are calling the Anthropocene Epoch? Anthropocene, much like Anthropology or anthropomorphic, takes its root from the Greek anthropos, …
Neil Postman once wrote, “Children are the living messages we send to a future we will not see.” When I ask elders if they believe they can change the course of human history, many believe they cannot. I believe they can. At a recent speaking engagement, an elderly gentleman—heavyset, gruff and wearing a baseball cap—pulled …
The 14-year-old who called the hotline last week was in desperate need of healing and self-absolution. I realize now, the seed of the conversation we shared was planted nearly 40 years ago. After finishing my master’s degree, I was invited to teach mathematics at The Hun School, a private, preparatory school just outside of Princeton, …
If it was that easy, we would all do it, and put an end to much of human misery. The world can be frightening for any of us, but for teens who are struggling to awaken to who they are in the world, it’s especially difficult. Recently, a courageous young man led a conversation with …
Note: The following are remarks I made to members of the Latino community in Aurora, Illinois. I was asked to speak about teen suicide following another tragic death just before Christmas. Thank you for this opportunity to be with you today. I am here because a mother and father have lost a child …