My Sister Doesn’t Know the Gruesome Story About How Our Mom Died. I’m Worried She’ll Find Out Online.
The writer is concerned that their 11-year-old sister, Ren, may discover online the traumatic details of their mother's suicide, which she does not yet know. Their mother died by jumping off a roof after a mental health crisis, during which she had taken Ren to the rooftop but was convinced to set her down before jumping. The family has kept the full story from Ren, who was adopted by her stepmother and has no memory of her biological mother, but the writer worries about her encountering the truth unsupervised.
- ▪The mother died by suicide after jumping off a building, having taken her infant daughter Ren to the roof during a mental health crisis.
- ▪Ren, now 11, has no memory of her biological mother and was adopted by her stepmother when she was 3.
- ▪The family has not told Ren the full circumstances of her mother’s death, but the older sibling fears she may discover it online.
- ▪The advice columnist suggests the father should gently open the conversation with Ren about her mother’s death before she learns it online.
- ▪The columnist advises revealing the truth gradually, starting with the fact of suicide and allowing Ren to guide how much detail she wants to know.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Care and Feeding My Sister Doesn’t Know the Gruesome Story About How Our Mom Died. I’m Worried She’ll Find Out Online. It would lead to a terrible shock. Advice by Michelle Herman May 02, 20268:00 AM Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Irene Puzankova/Getty Images Plus. Copy Link Share Share Comment Copy Link Share Share Comment Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding, My mother had severe psychiatric issues that blew up when my sister “Ren” was 6 months old, and I was 10. Ultimately, my mother’s mental health issues resulted in her suicide when Ren was just under a year old. She knows our mother died when she was a baby, but it’s the circumstances she is not aware of.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Slate Magazine.
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