I will never forget the day my mother called at college to tell me she had died. Her brother and I were the same age, and we all grew up together at church. He went home one day to find she had died by gun suicide. He cleaned up her remains, so their parents didn’t have to see it.
I was in shock. I didn’t have the words then to support my friend, much less to process my own grief. I wish I’d been a better friend to him. I wish I’d been more loving to her and aware of her pain. She had such a kind heart and a beautiful smile. Such a senseless loss to us, but perhaps it was what made sense to her. If there hadn’t been a gun available, would she still be here?