Twisted: A Suicide Story

By Jah Elliot

Jah Elliot and his brother, Joseph, made a sacred pact that if one of them were to die early, the other would tell the world their story.

The two were not brothers by blood but brothers by loyalty long before they knew what that word meant. The bond they shared was so strong that they were almost like one.

But Joseph died young, too early to enjoy high school, drive his own car, go to prom, graduate, see his siblings grow, and see life beyond what he knew.

In Twisted, the author explores how Joseph’s decisions and judgement led him down the wrong path. Joseph ended up running away from home, never realizing that fleeing problems doesn’t solve them—they catch up to you.

They caught up with Joseph, who died at age fifteen.

Whether you’re a parent trying to help a loved one through adolescence or someone who feels misunderstood or lost, you’ll discover valuable lessons in this story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480898714

Jah Elliot

Jah Elliot is an author, screenwriter, cartoonist, actor, investor, and comic book creator. He holds a Bachelor of Science in communications with an emphasis in film and media studies from Lamar University. He uses his literary and artistic talents to tell stories of the unheard, unknown, and to creatively express himself.

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Copyright © 2020 Jah Elliot.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system

without the written permission of the author except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author

and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names

of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9870-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9871-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020921452

Archway Publishing rev. date:  11/11/2020

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

1    The Explanation

2    War

3    Our Last Conversation

4    The Unfortunate Phone Call

5    Gorgeous Memories

6    The Awakening

7    The Puzzle

8    A Poem For Our Lost Ones

Afterword

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I cannot express enough thanks to those who have helped me throughout the process and completion of this memoir. It would have not been done without the support of my family, friends, classmates, and publishing team.

However, one person I would like to express my profound appreciation for is my brother Ajee J., who believed in not only me but the power of this story and with his endowment made the publication of the memoir possible.

Thank you to everyone else who helped, whether it be physically, morally, or emotionally. Everyone’s contributions are genuinely appreciated and recognized. I just want to thank you all. I put my time, effort, love, hate, and pain into this story.

PREFACE

This is a true story based on true events that happened to my best friend and brother, whom I love and miss. We made a promise as children that if one of us died early, the other would tell the world our story. To keep my promise, I’m going to tell his story. As part of that promise to him, I will tell the full story and the truth no matter what.

I wrote this not only because I promised him and loved him but because I know it will bring true rest to his soul. And with his newfound peace, it would also bring peace to me because I expressed the truth that he lived through.

Rest in paradise, baby brother. The names have been changed in this book so that those who do not wish to be identified may remain anonymous.

1

THE EXPLANATION

Everything happens for a reason, and everyone has a story to tell whether it is good or bad. In this case, the goodness or badness of this story is subjective, depending on your perspective. I know this story as if it were my own. But what makes it unique is that every time I tell it, it gets deeper and deeper because I have a metaphysical connection to this story. I watched it unfold but never really paid much attention until it was over. The story I am about to tell is about my brother, Joseph.

Joseph and I weren’t brothers by blood but brothers by loyalty long before we even knew what loyalty, love, and sacrifice were. Everyone has that person to whom they are not kin but who is considered their brother, sister, mother, father, or something else. As time went on and we grew, it felt like we became one. The bond between us became so strong that I could literally feel his emotions, see his thoughts, and even know when he was up to something. That’s when I knew that we would be brothers for the rest of our lives. But as we all know, life has many twists, turns, ups, downs, and pitfalls. It brings a lot to us that we have no control over and even sometimes puts us in a situation we can no longer control.

In Joseph’s case that is what happened, and through his life and his story I learned that life is all about how we react to circumstances and situations. But how you react has a lot to do with your level of understanding. The more you understand, the better your perspective of the situation will be, no matter what you are going through. Joseph, being just fifteen, lacked that understanding of his situation and chose the wrong way to handle it with the right people. Like they always say, with time the truth will show, and in due time that is what has happened. The truth really hurts, but at the same time it eases away all doubt and excess pain, saves time, and most importantly teaches us all a lesson. It certainly did in my brother’s case. Not only did his story change the lives of everyone who loved him forever, but as you read it, it may change yours as well.

You may have experienced this situation with different circumstances with someone you love. I’m truly writing this to spread my experience with heartbreak and pain and to let you know that you are not alone. When I first heard the news that Joseph had died, it wasn’t real to me. But after a while, it took me to a sunken place where I felt trapped and isolated. It was so strange to me because it felt like a part of me was gone. Not only did he die young, but he was buried with unfulfilled dreams, ambitions, and ideas that will never come to fruition. He will never get to experience so many things, like high school, driving his very own car, going to prom, having sex, graduating, seeing his siblings grow, and seeing life beyond what he knew. Then I began to question everything, from myself to even Joseph. Was it meant to be, or was it just unfortunate? That is something that I still haven’t figured out to this very day and I may not ever figure out. For me personally, that’s my battle within myself. But God gives everyone a deserving death, or does he? See, then it gets deeper. It gets more and more philosophical. Do we have free will? Is God even real? Do the good really die young? Is death a horrible thing, or is it a spiritual awakening? I’m getting too far ahead, but it is something to think about. It’s crazy what something like this will do to you, and I’m only his brother; think about how his mother feels. Joseph was her firstborn. I’m also writing this to speak for her. Though I can’t feel any of her pain or even a fraction of what she feels, I know she is hurt more than anyone else.

Once, my own mother told me, Nobody is going to love you more than your mom will. Hell, I love you more than I love myself. And this came from a black mother, so just imagine how not only Joseph’s mom feels