Paying it Forward
Keith Haughton
A space of remembrance, compassion, and shared support honoring Keith Haughton and the lasting impact of his life.
I lost my mom to suicide when I was 14 years old. I later learned that she suffered from severe depression for most of her life and had threatened and attempted suicide several times prior. I didn’t know any of this when I found her in her bedroom on February 26, 1985.
I lost my dad in June 2009 to suicide. He was suffering from end-stage cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol abuse.
One year later, I lost my only sibling, my younger brother Steve, to suicide in June 2010.
Last year, I decided to write a book about my life, detailing the loss of my family, my own battles with depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and my long journey of hope and healing.
My memoir, Rambles and Rants, was published in November of 2018. I pray that it brings encouragement, comfort, and the reassuring knowledge that none of us are alone in our pain. Hold fast to hope. Your story is not over yet…
Excerpt with permission
“Some days it is just a dull throbbing in my heart, a reminder that pieces of me are gone, and that I must wait, like all of us, for a time when I will be whole again. Other days I am overcome by a weight of sadness that seems so heavy I can hardly breathe. And that is okay. This is what it feels like when you lose someone you love. You hurt. You cry. You feel the undiluted pain of grief. You reach out to the safe, trusted people in your life and invite them to share your burdens and carry your broken heart in their hands. Together you learn to survive, to heal, to hope. And the light grows ever brighter…today, tomorrow, and every day after”
