This page is for writing and grieving, not for emergencies. If you’re thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 (US), or text HOME to 741741. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911.

A Place for Your Letter

Grief from death of a loved one by suicide is an incredibly emotional place to be as a survivor. Beyond the normal stages of grief, can be the burden of responsibility. That you should have maybe done more.

An undeliverable letter can be a cathartic experience. It won’t likely solve all the issue of grief you carry but it can be a freeing experience.

My favorite aunt died by suicide in 2024 and had a lasting effect on me personally. My letter “From B to V” below helped me to begin the process of sorting out my feelings about her suicide.

Writing can be an incredible tool for coping with grief and Write Now Therapy is based on this incredibly simple but scientifically proven form of self-help therapy. It is meant as the means of a starting point in your grieving process.

It may become evident that you need additional support beyond what you can do yourself. Support groups for grief exist. Many are listed below for reference. In addition, seek individual help from a licensed MFT, social worker, religious leader, or therapist if you feel you cannot do this alone. You are not alone in your grief.

There are others out there who have a shared experience with coping with the lose of a loved one including by suicide. Please use the resources out there.

From B to V Letter

If you only knew the hole you would leave in my life, I wonder if you would still have decided to go.

There isn’t a day I don’t think about picking up my phone to text you. Something funny. A movie I saw. A song I heard. An artist or a painting I wanted to ask you about.

It is hard to keep living when your mentor and muse has left this earth. Nothing feels quite the same, and I wonder if life will ever feel as good as it once did. When something good happens, I wonder what you would think and what you would say.

I wonder, too, how many other lives are like mine, missing the connecting rod of your life that kept things joined. The link between the living and the spiritual. The link between everyone who knew you. When that rod went out, it cut many of us off from the people you had brought together.

For the better part of a year I wished I had done more to hold you to this life. Maybe I should have called more, or texted sooner, or done something that could have kept you going. I have come to understand that no one person can do so much to stop a loved one from deciding this life is not for them anymore.

I just wish you knew how devastated I still am, more than two years later, by the hole your death left. You were important to me, and no matter how you felt about me or the decision you made, that hole in my heart will never be full again. There is no one like you in my life. You were so uniquely yourself that there is no puzzle piece among the living that could replace you.

Your absence has dimmed the holidays., and they no longer have the glow they once did. Only in my memories does that light live. If only you knew.

Forever with love,
B

Write Your Own Letter Here

Writing a letter to a loved one who has died by suicide is an extremely personal thing. However, understand that there are other people out there suffering like you are. There are people out there suffering from the grips of suicide ideation and contemplation. This public forum is meant to support you in your journey and as a means of paying it forward to those who also suffer.

The posting of your letter here should remain anonymous like “From B to V” or use of nicknames. Do not post first and last names here. Do not post details of how the person ended their own life. This is meant as a forum for people dealing with the lose of a loved one by suicide and needs to stay a safe place. The posting of letters here is moderated, Your letters may be edited or not posted based on use of personal identification or suicidal triggering details.

How to start your letter

Here are a couple of quick prompts to get you started if you are struggling with what to write. The start in writing is the most difficult part. Use these prompts just to get you going.

“Something I never got to tell you”
“I’m still angry about…”
“You left without saying goodbye”
“Today I wish you knew”

Suicide & Grief Support

If you are thinking about suicide, or someone you know is

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Free, any hour. Press 2 for Spanish, or 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ young people): call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678.
Emergency: call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
Outside the US: findahelpline.com lists free crisis lines by country.

If you are grieving a suicide loss

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): afsp.org/suicide-loss-resources. Has loss survivor resources and a tool to find a support group near you.
Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors: allianceofhope.org. Has an online community and forum for people who have lost someone to suicide.
SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education): save.org/programs/suicide-loss-support. Has guidance and support for people after a suicide loss.
Friends for Survival: friendsforsurvival.org. Peer support for suicide loss survivors.
The Compassionate Friends: compassionatefriends.org. Support for families grieving the death of a child, including by suicide.
GriefShare: griefshare.org. Grief support groups in many communities.
A grief counselor or therapist: many specialize in suicide loss. Psychology Today’s therapist finder (psychologytoday.com) lets you filter by grief.