"Survivor Showcase" is a feature of the Grief after Suicide blog that highlights the personal stories of survivors of suicide loss (and occasionally other bereaved people) whose experiences with grief and recovery have been reported in the news.

"It fills a bit of a hole for us," said Kerry of the trip. "We have a duty to talk about it and, let's face it, time does heal." "You never get over it," added Ginny. "You integrate these changes into your life."

"Those who suffer from mental illness, they feel that they are alone, no one understands them," said Ginny. "And no one cares." At this point, Kerry jumps in -- "and they do care."

"I think the main thing is you feel like it was a death that didn't have to be ... You ask yourself 'Could I have stopped it? Could I have done this? Could I have done that?' Our goal [in the group] is for other survivors to realize that what they are feeling is normal."

"... hope that they can survive the suicide of a loved one and that there's still meaning to their life ... It gives them the willingness and the desire to get better."

Is any of this really news to anybody? Is it really that hard to figure out? My question is the same question I find myself asking a lot these days, which is, "How many more?" How many more funerals do we need to have, before we look the problem in the face, and fix it?

My father's death felt unnatural, unacceptable, violent and, in my heart, avoidable ... It's not a choice I agree with, or even understand, really. I don't oppose this choice under all situations -- I voted in favor of the physician-assisted suicide referendum that failed in our state last November. But in my view, my father still had vital years ahead of him.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher John Trautwein talks about the Will to Live Foundation in an interview with Screening for Mental Health. The foundation was started by Trautwein and his wife, Suzie, in memory of their son Will, after the 15-year-old died by suicide.

If our Will can complete suicide, if our Will can be depressed, if our Will can have mental illness, then any kid we've ever met can as well ... The "it can't happen here" syndrome should not and does not exist. Therefore, we have to talk, we have to listen, and we have to love.

The real world's response to a suicide is to try and be supportive of those who are dealing first-hand with loss. But the real world goes on in spite of your tragedy. Meanwhile, we the newly bereaved, remain stuck in the moment that our world changed. And we aren't always able to reach out for help. What we need we can't have.

This edition of "Survivor Showcase" begins with a story from a journalism class at Wenatchee (Washington) High School. Reacting to an article in the town's newspaper titled "Suicide Coalition Shows Us How to Solve a Crisis," Brenna Visser, opinion editor for the school newspaper -- whose 21-year-old brother died by suicide last summer -- writes:

This obviously caught my attention, mostly for the word "solve." Solve, as if the complexity of someone's pain were to be decoded like a Rubik's Cube ... Every case is individual: Why my brother died, and why Mr. Riggs' son has died, and every other suicide, has its own story. And for everyone who has felt that loss knows that this crisis is far from "solved"...

We are treating suicide as the problem when it is the unbearable pain that a person experiences that is need of a solution. We can't "solve" a problem until we realize what the real problem is, and that is the complex way pain manifests within someone. There may not be a universal answer, but universal acknowledgement, kindness and respect for those who are struggling is imperative. Until we start dealing with the deeper issues, like mental illness, stress, etc., then there will be no improvement.

"You never know who this hits. If one kid is depressed or one kid is worried about a friend, and they talk to someone ... and it turns him around, it's so worth it ... If we could have (gotten) my son through a couple years, I think he would have been OK."

Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa spoke to OK! magazine in the wake of Mindy McCready's suicide. Melissa, whose father died by suicide when she was 18, said "for years, I felt like there was a big giant 'S' ... on my chest. I felt very stigmatized by it":

"For sure, I have abandonment issues. I think anyone who goes through a suicide has abandonment issues. Someone's choosing to not be there. Especially when it's a parent. Somewhere in your head, you always wonder, 'Was it me? Why wasn't I enough?' You have to play out all the 'what ifs?' and 'if onlies,' and then you must put them to rest, and not let it define who you are."

"Today actually marks the eight-year anniversary of losing my father to suicide ... There is no shame in having a loved one who has taken there own life ... We can stand together and kind of support one another."