The first three words of the introduction of the book I’m writing are…
Life…is…hard.
Not profound. Not anything anyone doesn’t know. But the truth. And sometimes we all need to speak more and live more of our own truths.
So I am sharing what made the difference to me when I was suicidal at the age of 18. There’s much more to the story, but in the hopes it may encourage someone else to ask a hard question and potentially help save a life, I felt led to share part of it today.
There are as many different reasons for pain in this life as there are people in this world. Please care enough to ask questions, listen, don’t judge what you may not understand and help someone who is hurting to connect with professional help.
August 5, 2022, 9:18 a.m. via Facebook Messenger I reached out to someone not positive she was even the right person.
Good morning! While my memory of that time period is sketchy at best, I believe you may have been the person who noticed I was very sad and cared enough to check on me one morning to see if I was safe. If that was you, I wanted to say thank you for saving my life. It has taken three decades to actually get to the point where I truly want to live for myself, so my sincere apologies for the much overdue gratitude.
Vrenda Pritchard Response:
You are so welcome, Ginger! What a beautiful person you have become. So proud of you.
9:39 a.m., written with tears of gratitude flowing down my face…
I’m so glad I took the chance that it was you and reached out as I’ve been wondering for some time now. Apparently the way my brain blocked a bad memory (the rape), it also had to block the good memories of many wonderful people who were in my life back then. I’m trying to recover some of that now that I’ve fully remembered and worked through the bad memory. Thank you for the kind words today and back then for noticing, for caring and taking the time to come check on me. I always enjoy your posts and think we must have similar hearts which is probably why yours noticed when mine was hurting. Not everyone has the courage to do what you did, so thank you. Would you mind if I include you by name on the dedication page of my book?
Vrenda:
I would love that. I am so glad you are still a part of my life. Even if it is via Facebook.
Vrenda was the manager at the pool where I was a lifeguard. She didn’t know me particularly well, she was just observant, cared about all people and had the courage to ask me if I wanted to hurt myself. I can’t imagine it was easy for her to come to my house that morning, but she did it and it helped keep me alive.
This is a preview of one of the entries on the book’s Dedication page. There’s no way to thank her enough.
To a most precious soul, Vrenda Pritchard. You saw my pain and hopelessness and cared enough to do what you could to make sure I was safe. It's impossible to adequately thank someone who literally saves your life. I am hoping, however, that by sharing the part of my story where you played a crucial role, others will be inspired to care enough to pay attention and have the courage to act just like you did.
Comments