What Happens When I'm Gone

By Robert Adelfson

On August 23, 2009, my only child, my son, took his own life. Since then I’ve devoted much time and energy trying to understand how such a thing could have happened. Why a wonderful, seemingly happy young man would choose to end his own life.

Unfortunately I have no answers, simply more unanswered questions.

However, one thing I do know, from first hand experience, is the devastating consequences that resulted from his suicide. I’ve attended Survivors of Suicide (SOS) meetings, talked with friends and family who have lost a loved one to suicide, spoken with counselors, ministers, and prevention specialists and found that there are several common threads that link us all together. In addition to the grief, the sorrow, the feelings of helplessness and the many unanswered questions, there are a series of events that follow almost every suicide.

These events are the subject of this book, which I have written in hopes that if you are contemplating suicide, you will take a short amount of your time to read. After all, if you are considering taking your own life don’t you owe it to yourself to understand the consequences of your actions? Not only for those you leave behind, but for yourself as well. Because no one know for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, what happens when you take your own life. “Life” on the other side may not be anything like you imagine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Adelfson
• Release date: Sep 12, 2012

Robert Adelfson

Robert Adelfson has been actively involved with Survivors of Suicide, a support group for those who have lost a loved one to suicide, since his son died in August 2009. In addition, he is involved in suicide prevention and speaking to others regarding the devastating effects of suicide on friends, family, and loved ones. Robert is also an active member of the Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) group in Tempe, Arizona. This group, consisting of a trained counselor/psychologist and one or two survivors, responds to the scene of a suicide to offer support and assistance to family members and friends. In addition to offering his emotional support, Robert also helps families navigate the hectic and often confusing steps that must be taken following a suicide. Robert is a member of the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition and a field advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Robert lives in Queen Creek, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, with his wife Linda.

Book preview

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