R U Ok

In April 1995 my father, Barry Larkin, took his own life. He had been the major influence in my life and his death was completely devastating. I honestly felt like I was broken and I would never (could never) be “fixed”.

I experienced, first hand, the collateral damage of suicide; something at least 1900 Australian families experience every year. The ABS is currently revising how it categorises death by suicide and estimates the actual total could be as high as 3500.

In the aftermath of a suicide, friends and family often end up on a massive emotional roller coaster, which can seem never ending. You can be despairing, sad, confused, betrayed, guilty, angry, sentimental and grief stricken all in the space of a minute. Yet each of those emotions can be so complete and so raw that you feel more alive but less in control, than you’ve ever felt before.

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