Local author and mental health advocate Lisa Sugarman is out with her latest project — and it’s a deeply personal one. Sugarman began her career as a columnist here in Marblehead, which led to her writing four books, including her most recent.
Her newest work is, “Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss.” The book serves as storytelling of Sugarman’s own story with tools and resources for those going through similar events. It is described as a lifeline for those struggling after suicide loss or a helpful sources for those curious on how to help others.
The Current spoke with Sugarman about her latest chapter.
CURRENT: How did you get involved with mental health advocacy? How did that become a turning point in your career?
SUGMARMAN: I discovered the truth about my father’s death. I lost my dad when I was 10 to what I was told was a heart attack. That’s how I grieved him and that’s how I lived my life. And then very, very unexpectedly about 12 years ago, I learned that he had actually taken his life and died by suicide. I found out by accident and learned from my mom that it was a very conscious decision to tell me that it was a heart attack because I was a 10-year-old-kid in 1978. My mom knew that it was going to be hard enough for me to grow up without a dad, she didn’t want me to grow up and have to deal with that [stigma] on top of it.
Little by little, I just started this compulsion to want to share what I had gone through. So I started by talking to people about it. And I very unintentionally started a platform that’s taken on a life of its own. It’s become something so special to me and something so powerful to others. It’s called the Help Hub. And essentially, it’s an inclusive and comprehensive online mental health resource platform, toolkit, and content hub.
CURRENT: As you were writing, “Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss” did you still find it hard to talk about your dad’s suicide? Did it help you process some of the shock?
SUGARMAN: Writing the book, in particular, has been the most cathartic healing experience that I’ve had since I lost my dad … but writing about it and talking about it in a different process, in different ways. And the way that I have always processed things, whatever the thing might be in my life, is by writing.
The book has definitely brought out the good, the bad and the ugly about this whole journey. But overall I’m more grateful for having had this experience of being able to write this book, whether one person reads it or 10 people read it. Whatever parts of my story might resonate with someone that helps them cope better, or seek help when they weren’t going to seek help or find resources, all the reasons.
CURRENT: On your hardest days, what helps? What tools or skills do you use to get through tough emotions?
SUGARMAN: There are probably three things that I do equally when I’m having a moment like that. The first one is journaling. I also meditate every day. That’s how I start my day, that’s how I ground myself. That’s how I find my center point again is most often meditation too. And then the other big thing is movement. So I’ve been a runner forever. I lift, I practice yoga, I do hiking, whatever it is that gets me moving my body.
Sugarman is a counselor with the Trevor Project, a board member of Samaritans on the South Shore of Boston where she moderates a suicide loss grief group once a month, content creator for the American Foundation for Suicide Loss, a storyteller for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and her own podcast called ‘The Survivors’.
To check out the Help Hub, visit thehelphub.co. To learn more about “Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss” visit thehelphub.co/my-books.
