Thread by @thesundaytimes

"I shot a bullet of pain into the darkness and it ricocheted and came back as solace."

Rather than hide from questions about her partner’s death, @poppy_damon posted the news on twitter. The response was a remarkable outpouring of love and understanding

thetimes.co.uk/article/my-hus…

"My husband, Pete, was 34 when he died. He took his own life. And I found him. This is the news I have delivered hundreds of times now: three facts — over and over."

"I have told family and friends and colleagues and neighbours. But so many strangers too: the person at the bank, the woman at the supermarket. When someone says, “How are you?”, I cannot fake a smile."

"I’ve always wanted to make sure all the information is there. For me, leaving out how he died is like leaving out that he died at all.

"It was a tragedy I was repeating to everyone over and over already, and sharing on Twitter was my version of putting the truth out into the world.

Plus, it took the pressure off anyone who wasn’t sure how to phrase it in my presence."

“Here you are,” I wanted to say. “He took his own life.” So, on August 15, I tweeted:

https://twitter.com/poppy_damon/status/1426834470250942469

"And soon, the replies came in. There were the people who had lost their own spouses, children or friends the same way. Those who had lost their parents. “My dad killed himself this May and I can’t explain how much I miss the way that life was before,” someone tweeted."

"There were those who agreed with me that all feelings change and we must never forget that. You can always escape the dark places in your mind, and suicide can be prevented."

"I’ve had invitations to mosques and churches and support groups. I’ve started corresponding with people all over the world.

I shot a bullet of pain into the darkness and it ricocheted and came back as solace."

"I don’t suggest that I’ve reached the stage of finding meaning in something so meaningless, but I know I’ve started to look for it. Pete didn’t like the limelight but he did always want to help people. I’m trying to work out exactly how I keep that legacy going."

Read the full article here: thetimes.co.uk/article/my-hus…