The Write Way to Grieve: Journaling Through the Aftermath of a Suicide

By Terri Johnson

The death of a child is one of the deepest traumas known. When a child commits suicide, the trauma strikes deeper because of the guilt, social stigma and unanswered questions associated with suicide. How did everyone miss the signs of this child's emotional turmoil? Why did this happen? There is no right way to grieve the death of a loved one. The Write Way to Grieve tells the story of one mother's journey through grief in the years that followed her fourteen-year-old son Ryan's suicide. Author Terri Johnson's journal of poetry, prose, and pain reveals the steps and setbacks in her journey. The discovery of Ryan's journal at school empowered her to find the truth in what happened and what might have happened if the journal had been treated differently. The Write Way to Grieve is one mother's answer to her son's cry for help. Suicide should never be the answer. Terri Johnson wrote from her experience to inform others of suicide awareness, prevention and intervention so Ryan's death would not be in vain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781640037427

Terri Johnson

Ms. Terri Johnson has over 20 years of experience as a licensed(clinical) social worker, working in education, correctional facilities, Baltimore City Health Department, hospitals and managed care settings. Ms. T. Johnson, as she's lovingly called by her students, has been in private practice since 2009 and serves African American women, transitioning adults and various couples. Ms. Johnson is a proud graduate of Morgan State University where she received a Bachelor's in Social Work and received a Master's in Social Work from the University of MD, School of Social Work, Baltimore. The author of Body Safety Zones (BSZ) has spent more than twenty years working with young people making sure that they understand how special they are and how important it is for them to know how to protect themselves from people who would physically and/or sexually abuse or exploit them. She enjoys singing, dancing, reading, coloring, creating, and spending time with her two young adult children, Jameela and Jabari, and her pets: Bubbles (cat), Zoe Lee (Yorkie), and Hickory (turtle). She loves to volunteer cuddling NICU babies and driving the elderly. Ms. Johnson has a Body Safety Zones (BSZ) Activity and Coloring Book coming out Fall 2020 and available on her website www.persistenceistheway.com. She is on social media as follows: Instagram: @persistenceistheway, Facebook: @persistencet1, and Twitter: @persistenceist1.