"Murderers can at least be questioned, but a suicide is a murder in which the killer is also the victim: in which the reason, the motive, dies with the act." Jeremy Gavron, son of Hannah Gavron, who died by suicide in 1965 at age 29 (The Guardian, U.K. -- also see A Woman on the Edge of Time)

"Connor, Will [Trautwein], Robin Williams -- they died of an illness, just as people die of cancer and heart disease ... It is common. It is treatable. It is curable. And it is ok. The stigma needs to go away. People need to talk about it." Erin Ball, mother of Connor, who died by suicide in 2011 when was 14 (WMUR, Manchester, N.H.)

"Suicide grief is so complicated. It's a very physical pain. It affects every cell in your body." Grace Young, mother of Jack Young Jr., who died by suicide in 2007 at age 27. (Hartford Courant, Conn.)

The story -- of a middle-aged man's suicide on a stretch of track in Southern California -- gives voice to those bereaved and shocked and debilitated by the death, the man's wife and friends, a passer-by who witnessed the suicide, train engineers, and a father who faced an irony too horrible for him to comprehend or assimilate.

"As I was driving in the rain to the hotel [after being told of the suicide], my first thought was that this is more than I will ever be able to handle," she said. "I contemplated slamming my car into the light pole ahead."

He's fallen twice in recent months, and he was unable to continue tending to his goats, so he sold the farm. He cut off his phone service.

I am a passionate advocate for suicide prevention and mental illness since losing my late husband, Rob, to suicide Dec. 2000. I've had a lot of time to learn, accept, forgive, heal and move forward and feel so strongly that this is my purpose, to take my own experience, share with others and help them on their journey of recovery.

Forgiveness is ... not necessarily done for someone else, it is done for you, so that you can begin to heal whatever is holding you back. I have ... learned that forgiveness for yourself is best done first ... I have since forgiven myself many times for things I have done that most definitely contributed to how my life turned out. Each time I do, more and more is released ... and I [recognize] my anger [has] slowly dwindled away.

As many of you know, on Dec. 10, my boyfriend, Richard Sharpstein, a well-respected criminal attorney -- and longtime Miami Beach resident -- died as the result of suicide. He was 63.

• Take a walk with me or invite me to play tennis or attend an event.
• Accept the fact that I cry a lot. I can't help it. I am sad and so many things remind me of Richard.
• Allow me to feel sorry for myself, but not too sorry.
• Don't ask me if I "feel better." I don't have the flu that runs its course in two weeks.
• Be patient with me and keep reaching out, even if I don't reply right away.

Molly, whose husband died by suicide in 2010, most recently wrote in "Transformation" about attending the screening of the documentary film Transforming Loss , which features her story, along with the stories of five other bereaved people. According to a story in the Detroit News:

"Transforming Loss" documents the grief journeys of six ... people who, in the face of devastating losses, were able to transform themselves and their pain through helping others ... [Filmmaker Judith] Burdick's vision, which began as a book and evolved into a film, was to provide "an intimate view of grief that would force people to really feel and experience the whole process: from grief to healing to transformation."

"I feel like I'm the perfect person for people to talk to about this [grief] ... It takes time, but you learn lessons of strength, compassion and acceptance. There is some joy back in my life."

Here is a quote from "What to Do about Valentine's Day," by Cheryl Eckl, whose husband died of cancer in 2008:

The problem is that it's Valentine's Day weekend—which always brings up the whole idea of love. And, for widowed persons, the question of loving again after loss. Clearly, this is a matter I have avoided because, in surveying my present circumstance, I realize that I have, indeed, replaced my husband—but ... not with a sentient being. These days I spend the majority of my time with my desktop Mac, laptop, iPhone, and soon-to-be-purchased iPad.

Judging from the e-mails I have received from other widows, I suspect I'm not alone in this situation. But this lover's holiday does kind of rub my nose in the fact that there is nobody in my life right now who is going to send me flowers or take me out to a nice romantic dinner. My electronics may be interactive devices but they are neither thoughtful nor proactive when it comes to the most basic of human needs: relationship.

The original article was posted on Feb. 11, 2012 to Cheryl's blog, "A Beautiful Grief," which is hosted by Psychology Today.