September is Suicide Awareness Month. It’s an opportunity to educate ourselves on a subject we tend to avoid. Suicide Awareness and Prevention is a core part of the mission of the Brian Dagle Foundation which was founded in 2014 after the loss of my 19-year old son Brian to suicide. Back then, in 2011, there was little or no conversation about mental health and suicide. I did not know then what I know now. If I did, maybe my life…
Continue ReadingDear Friends and Supporters- As I sit down to write this message, it’s that wonderful time of the year, the 2020 Holiday Season. A season we like to imagine is filled with joy, peace, and hope. This year, ask people how they feel about the holiday season, and their response might be, “For this year, peace, joy, and hope have either been deferred or out of work”. For me, there is one word that describes the holidays of 2020. No, it’s…
Continue ReadingAs summer comes to an end, September welcomes cooler days and a return to some sense of order in our new reality. September is also National Suicide Awareness Month and September 10th is National Suicide Awareness Day. For myself and for the Brian Dagle Foundation, it is a month to highlight the mission of the foundation through an increase in community education, awareness, and trainings.It also allows me to share my story, with the hope that no one else has…
Continue Reading2020 is proving to be a year filled with challenges. We are being tested in ways none of us could’ve ever imagined. And also happens to be a new decade for the world and for me! As I begin a new decade of my life, I find myself reflecting on the lessons learned and the challenges I’ve faced. Below some of my reflections, thoughts, and advise I would give to my younger self. My Dear Ann, Be present. The good, the…
Continue ReadingWhat I’ve learned…Going backward before you go forward. Reflecting back to 2019. Ironically, this was written before the uncertainty of the events we face today. In the chaos of life, I am grateful for the gift of time and reflection. I see now more than ever, this post is appropriate. As the new year begins, typically I try and reflect on a word that best describes the year in review-a glance in the rear view mirror as I reflect on what…
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Dear Friends and Supporters, I hope this message finds you and your family safe-doing the best you possibly can at this moment in time. As we pass an entire month of “sheltering in place”, I find my thoughts drifting to so many of you who have touched a special place in my heart. People who have lost a loved one and gave themselves permission to be vulnerable, sharing openly about their grief. I’m grateful to the many communities and schools…
Continue ReadingThe Brian Dagle Foundation has reached a momentous milestone. Five years ago we started with “Project Brian” whose sole purpose was to support parents who have lost a child and to provide support for people who lost a loved one to suicide. It was through serendipitous events as well as the kindness of many of you that the foundation took roots in our community. Your support inspires us at the challenging and many times heaviness of a grief support group.…
Continue Reading“How can I help?” I love that phrase. These words, I borrowed from the television program, New Amsterdam. Each time the profoundly warm hearted Dr. Max Goodwin met someone, he would ask, “How can I help?”Four simple words, we can all live by. Many of you reading this newsletter, are recipients of help from the Brian Dagle Foundation and Brian’s Healing Hearts. We’ve had the privilege of holding space for hundreds of people who are grieving the loss of someone in…
Continue ReadingHope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. — Emily Dickinson Recently, I spoke about hope. It seems to be front and center in my life lately. On October 19, the Brian Dagle Foundation celebrated five years of “Anchored in Hope”. It was both a celebration and an opportunity to honor and thank all of the people who have given me hope. It is also what…
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