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January 06, 2006
A reader responds
As a follow-up to yesterday's posting about our coverage of the Belmont suicide, here is the letter I mentioned from the victim's sister, Nancy Preisendorfer of Boscawen:
I am the sister of the deceased. I know you were not the first to print this story and only followed the lead of the others. I thank you for leaving out some of the details included in other coverage. I understand based upon the sensationalism of the story it could not be passed up.
Unfortunately, it will be how some of the relatives I have not yet had the chance to contact will learn of my brother's death. It would be considerate if the media would recognize the position of the victim's family and leave out names. The sensationalism would still be there.
I feel it is important for the public to know my brother was a talented, widely loved individual who suffered from severe depression. He was frequently alone even when he was with friends and family. He struggled for much of his life to be happy and kept himself secluded when he felt his sadness would infringe upon others.
I am troubled by the emphasis being on the way he died. I understand the media appeal. The focus must be put on making the public more aware of the signs of mental illness and of the treatment options that exist. People need to try everything they can to seek treatment for depression in themselves and their family members.
We all loved Dave and tried throughout his life to reach through to him and pull him out of the sadness. It just wasn't enough.
I regret that the Concord Monitor chose to point individuals toward finding online instructions for making guillotines. It might be a better idea to direct them toward internet resources for learning about and dealing with mental illness. It might be the lifeline they need.
Posted by Mike Pride at January 6, 2006 10:34 AM
Comments
Please give Nancy my condolances for the loss of her brother. I wasn't expecting to see such an article when I first read this blog. I was searching the net, looking for persons with my last name. After reading over three hundred sites, I came upon this and I thought that I would express my view on depression. I am a former depression patient and know this feeling well. After some extensive work and internal healing, I can say that it is one of the hardest things to deal with. Remember that it is a disease and with the "right" meds, can be aided in the coping with. Showing the right direction to look in this time was the right thing to do, yet since we live in such a morbid society, others don't have the common sense or respect for others. To Nancy, keep your chin up, he isn't lost, only waiting for some timely company to share it with.
Posted by: Chris Preisendorfer at March 26, 2006 09:00 PM