There’s a life to live

July 7, 2010 is a day that Elmira’s Cathy Read-Wilson will remember for the rest of her life. That was the day it all became too much for her. Read-Wilson, who had suffered from mental health issues ever since she was a teen, recently lost her job and was still grieving the loss of a close friend from cancer the year before.  July 7 was the day she attempted suicide at the end of the trail by the old railway bridge north of West Montrose.
Fortunately, her counsellor had called 911 and police managed to intervene and save her. On Sept. 10, Read-Wilson will tell her story with others who have been impacted by suicide at Trinity United Church in Elmira to help stop the stigma against those who try to take their own life.
“It’s never a one-dimensional thing,” said Read-Wilson of why she decided to try and take her own life more than a year ago “Suicide was part of my thought process and I didn’t think that I was any different than anyone else.”

The two-hour talk, entitled “A Life to Live,” coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day and includes a talk from life healing coach Sheila Stevenson and members of the Suicide Prevention Council, as well as a combination of humour, entertainment and live music supplied by local musician Nichelle Bauman.
“When you’re that low and in that much pain it’s very difficult to express how you’re feeling,” said Read-Wilson about the inability of many suicidal individuals to seek help. “It is a sense of aloneness and for me personally I didn’t want my family to know how unhappy I was, because I didn’t want to bring them down with me.”
She hopes the talk can help open doors for those who have had similar feelings and generate discussion on the topic as well as shed some light on a very dark reality of our society.
“Not many people will open a conversation with, ‘I had a suicide attempt last year,’” she said.
Read-Wilson is also preparing to release a book titled Reflections: Finding Direction Through My Mind’s Eye which is a collection of photographs she took last Thanksgiving at the site of her suicide attempt, and poetry she has written to accompany those photos.
She also included a speech written by her youngest son on the topic of bullying, depression and suicide that he gave at his school last year.
“I think there is a lot of people in society that have turned a blind eye to suicide. We’re working on decreasing that stigma, but I would say that a fair chunk of the population don’t feel comfortable talking about it for whatever reason.”
The talk is free to the public to attend, and good will offerings will be accepted for donation to the Waterloo Regional Suicide Prevention Council. It starts at 7 p.m. at Trinity United Church at 21 Arthur St. N. in Elmira.