Blog

A Broken Heart Still Beats

February 6th, 2023

Here we are in February. Heart health month. I wanted to share a message from my heart about your heart. Many people who walk through the doors at Brian’s Healing Hearts are seeking help for their broken hearts. We talk about the strong connection between grief and health. The body understands when a heart has shattered. It undeniably responds with physical exhaustion, pain, illness, and sometimes heart disease. Grief can be confusing because the heart and the brain are not always in sync,…

Starting a New Year

January 10th, 2023

January 2023. It will take some getting used to. Another year, ready or not, life moves forward. It still surprises me to be able to say that despite Brian’s death, eleven years ago, that my life has moved forward. And it’s beautiful. I am deeply grateful. Many of you had something to do with that. You’ve touched my heart in a way that leaves me speechless. To the person who walks through our doors, I see you. I remember that…

Thoughts on navigating the holidays

December 6th, 2022

As we settle into the darker, colder days of early winter here in New England, with the holidays on the horizon, I wanted to share a few thoughts as we navigate the weeks ahead. Remember, it’s ok to set limits on your productivity at work or at home. Give yourself permissions to say no thank you to holiday invitations. Maybe we should follow the path of Mother Nature this time of year. Winter is not the time of growth but…

November is for Brian

November 2nd, 2022

Every November since I began writing a newsletter, I try my best to share my thoughts about Brian and the emotions surrounding date he left this earth, November 12, 2011. Eleven years. Thinking about that day, really thinking about it – I question how I survived. It feels like a lifetime. It feels like yesterday. My mind wanders a lot in the days leading up to November 12th. Remembering, questioning, wondering about the days and weeks before. It wanders to…

A Whirlwind September

October 3rd, 2022

September has been a whirlwind of events to promote National Suicide Awareness Month. Talks, presentations, interviews, events, and fundraisers for both the Brian Dagle Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I’ll be honest, it’s been exhausting, both physically and emotionally. But we continue to do it for Brian and for all the others out there who didn’t know how to share the depths of their darkness. For parents, I pray never have to know the pain of losing…

National Suicide Awareness Month 2022

August 24th, 2022

As the summer winds down, the Brian Dagle Foundation is preparing for National Suicide Awareness Month beginning September 1st. This is the month that I stand a little taller, speak a little louder, and be the voice for the more than 46,000 people we lose to suicide each year. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020, an estimated 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt,…

988 – New Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotline Launches

July 26th, 2022

On July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)) is becoming the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Connecticut, the United Way of Connecticut/211 (UWC) Health and Human Services Contact Center is the only provider answering calls for the NSPL/988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The 800 line and 211 will not go away in the event people need to call and aren’t familiar yet with 988.⁠⁠It will take time for people to learn about 988, and using a…

2022 LAX2LIVE Season Recap

June 17th, 2022

The 2022 LAX2LIVE season was an incredible opportunity for the foundation to start the necessary conversation with hundreds of young men and woman athletes about depression and suicide prevention. These players work hard, study hard, and put so much pressure on themselves, they (and we) sometimes forget to look at them as simply a person – not the athlete and not the student. Our message is this: It’s okay to ask for help. You would ask for help if you…

Thoughts on Grief and Time

April 28th, 2022

Time heals all wounds. ⁠ It’s time to move forward. ⁠ It’s time to live again. ⁠ There’s never enough time. Time to work. Time to play. Time to love. Time to live. ⁠ Everyone has their thoughts about time, especially after losing someone you think you cannot live without. ⁠ Time is a friend and time is an enemy. ⁠ The past few years, time has befriended me. Time has softened the years since Brian’s death.⁠ A decade is…

Remembering Brian on His 30th Birthday

April 1st, 2022

This day arrives each year with the anticipation beginning about a month before when the calendar turns to March 2nd. Regardless of the number of years, the hesitation, the anticipations begins again, counting down to April 2nd. This year would have been a milestone year. This year on April 2nd, Brian would have celebrated his 30th birthday. Eleven birthdays without him. Eleven birthdays remembering his smile, his love, his light. Remembering the love while simultaneously honoring the profound loss I feel without him is…

Blog

Blog

A Broken Heart Still Beats

Starting a New Year

Thoughts on navigating the holidays

November is for Brian

A Whirlwind September

National Suicide Awareness Month 2022

988 – New Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotline Launches

2022 LAX2LIVE Season Recap

Thoughts on Grief and Time

Remembering Brian on His 30th Birthday

Grief Support Programs

Coping with Loss

Suicide Prevention