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The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
Suicide loss changes everything. This show is about life after suicide—real talk and practical support for grief after suicide: parents, partners, siblings, and friends finding their footing again. Each week, we explore what helps in suicide bereavement so you can keep going with honesty and hope.
Hosted by Melissa Bottorff-Arey, whose 21-year-old son, Alex, died by suicide in 2016, the podcast blends intimate conversations with survivors, healers, and mental health experts with short solo “Daily Nugget” episodes you can actually use. We cover child loss, trauma and nervous-system care, anniversaries and seasons, stigma, faith and meaning, legacy, and the everyday practices that make life livable again. You’ll hear grounded tools, language that honors your person, and the reminder that you are not broken—you are grieving.
For supporters and educators, these episodes offer insight into the realities of suicide grief and what genuine, non-fixing support looks like. If you’d like to share your story or expertise, you can request to be a guest via my website. 💜
Content Note
This podcast speaks candidly about difficult experiences and may feel activating. We avoid method details and graphic description. Please care for yourself as needed. I’m not a doctor or licensed therapist; nothing here is medical or mental-health advice.
The Leftover Pieces: Suicide Loss Conversations
The Rest of My Story; My Analysis of the Essay
SPECIAL NEW EPISODE DROP! This is Part 2 of 3 (Listening in order is recommended). I am getting very 'up close and personal' as I do something I have not done since I began the podcast in 2020-- tell "the rest of my story." This is part of MY life after the suicide loss of my son Alex Mullins on August 7, 2016
Putting this out there has taken way more 'guts' than I anticipated. Much like Part 1, it took extra days to release this one. Even eight years in (it would seem), I am still learning about my new self. Hard things are hard!
In the 3-part series, you get Part 1, "The Rest of My Story," Part 2 - "My Analysis," and that will be followed by Part 3, "Can Words Kill...What Now?"
Today, I respond to the essay I read in Part 1 as the start of me telling anyone who will listen to what started in August of 2016 at Truman State University with my son Alex's suicide... and what we had no clue about that became a nightmare on top of a nightmare, for many, not just us. "Free will" serves as a center point of this story: free will and a disturbed individual with a death obsession and malice in his heart (IMO). Free will is complicated - just like suicide & mental health - in most suicides, but how does it factor in when another person is right there - influencing or bullying or even reasoning and coaxing...?
So, it's time to tell the story. The world needs to know because I KNOW I am not alone in this, or similar, situations - and that pains me. We need to draw attention to bullies, toxic relationships, and more that lead our kids straight to taking their own life. We need answers, accountability, and more. Let's have conversations! Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast and me!
Find the essay I read in this episode HERE. It's called Talking Suicide Blues by Jeannette Cooperman, published on January 31, 2022. In my opinion, it's the most accurate article written to date. There is still So. Much. More. to the story, but now you know more than you did-- and I hope it gives you something to think about.
From Episode 3 (but I will put here also), Like me these parents know how I feel:
Find Curator of Quotes HERE
Find HicksStrong HERE
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💜 The Leftover Pieces is support central for grieving hearts.
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🌟 For moms: Explore the $9 Lighthouse Community — safe connection, tools, and hope.
🛠 Resources for all grievers: Start here.
🤝 One-on-one grief coaching for moms after child loss to suicide: Learn more here.
📞 Need help now? If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, dial 988 in the U.S. & Canada, or text HOME to 741741.