ABSTRACT
Hearing about the death of a student is never easy. Hearing that the student chose to take his own life is even more difficult to grasp. Regardless of our levels of training and experience, none of us want to face this situation. Are we ever prepared for such a tragedy? How do we continue our work after a student suicide? How do we begin to help the other students—and the staff—work through such devastation? Many questions surface, many of which we will never be able to answer. In sharing one story of a suicide loss, I venture to share how our school response team handled such questions and the harsh realities we faced. I hope you never lose a student to suicide, but also hope that reading about our journey gives you another ounce of preparation, if you need it.
