Walking through the night again

Last year a dream some 8 years in the making came to fruition for me.  Thanks to my dear friend Jen taking it upon herself to make this dream happen, I had the opportunity to participate in the Out of Darkness Overnight walk in Washington D.C. last June.  Because of her ridiculous generosity, and the amazing network of people in her life, it was only a matter of days before my fundraising goal was nearly met, hotel and airfare had been provided for and I began training.  That whole process was one of the most humbling experiences of my life, and to those who made it happen, I will never be able to express my gratitude sufficiently.

The actual event was incredible, and I have mostly been unable to put into words what was so powerful about it.  I took the weekend to be alone and let myself fully participate in the healing that I was there for.  And then the night of the walk I had the privilege of walking and sharing stories with such beautiful people.  One thing that hit me in my own reflecting and sharing was that if I'm there walking, it means that no one has to put my name or picture on their shirt and walk in memory of me.  So I made a goal the morning we finished to walk every year from then on as a statement that suicide has not been victorious in my life.

I'm ahead of the game this year, at least compared to last year, which is in large part due to the fact that I need to raise the funds and get the plane tickets and all that myself this time.  In September, Jen passed away as breast cancer took her life.  One of the reasons she was so committed to making it possible for me to participate in the Out of the Darkness walk was because of her experience at the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk.  She talked about the power of being with people that "get it," and that definitely was one of the greatest blessings of my experience at the walk last year.  To be honest, the thought of raising the funds and procuring the resources to be able to go this year is pretty daunting to me.  But I am so passionate about what the Out of Darkness Overnight is about, and what the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is doing that I am trusting God will provide once again this year.

I want to ask you to consider helping me get to Philadelphia this June to walk once again.  To give you an idea of what the walk is, I put together this little video with photos I took last year.  The song in the background is "O Sister" by City and Colour, and the people talking are just a few of the folks I was able to walk with.  One of the most powerful parts of the walk is coming to the finish line where thousands of lumanaria that depict why each of us are walking.  I spent hours looking at each one, and they are what most of the photos are of.

From the Out of the Darkness website:

About the walk: The Out of the Darkness Overnight is a fundraising walk like no other. It's a 16-18 mile journey through the night, from dusk until dawn, where a courageous community of men and women like you will break the silence and bring the issues of depression and suicide into the light.

Why we walk: A suicide attempt happens every minute of every day. Every 14 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies by suicide. These statistics are staggering and yet remain hidden and not discussed. We walk to bring the issues of suicide, depression, and mental disorders into the spotlight and to continue the work of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - work that will truly save lives.

About the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: The Overnight is organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide.