🌎 Stay here on earth with me
Welcome to the second day of autumn, and the fourth quarterly issue of This Mortal Portal. It includes:
- A short story based on true stories of people with suicidal thoughts
- Vic's Picks
- For the Record
Plus the perfect summer GIF and a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.
-V
(I switched to a new email provider, btw.)
Stay Here On Earth With Me
This story is a composite of many true stories that I've been a part of in my work as a chaplain.
A big man, we'll call him Anthony, walks into my office without knocking, his phone in his hand. He's talking to someone from the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, who tells me on speakerphone that Anthony has been having thoughts of overdosing to end his life, and can I take over from here?
Now Anthony's sitting in my office. Hyperventilating. Knee twitching. Choking back tears. I ask what's going on. I don't know, he says, and starts crying. I give him a little time. Coach him through some breathing. Ask him again.