How I Learned to Let Go of Perfectionism: A Lesson From My Mother’s Suicide

My mother died 18 years ago today. It has probably taken me that long to be able to talk about it because as survivors of suicide, our culture teachs us to live in shame.

However, as I grow older, I have learned to let go of that shame. If you mention your experience with suicide to others, you will usually always find that they were affected by a similar loss in some way.

If you knew my mother, you probably also knew that she was nearly perfect at everything. She was the…