The author and journalist Lynn Keane discusses her memoir about her son’s Daniel’s suicide, Give Sorrow Words (Starburst Digital, 2014), grief, mental illness, and depression, with Joseph Planta.

Watch Lynn Keane’s video: ‘A Letter to Daniel‘

Give Sorrow Words by Lynn Keane (Starburst Digital, 2014). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Give Sorrow Words

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

We’ve talked about mental illness and suicide on this program in the past, and today we’ll do the same from the unique perspective of a mother who lost her son to a depression-related suicide in 2009. Lynn Keane’s son Daniel was 23 years old, and in her new book Give Sorrow Words, she recounts his childhood, and the moments before and after his untimely death. The book really is a call to end the stigma around mental illness, and provides a marvellous point from which we can talk about and perhaps prevent mental illness. Too many young Canadians are dying from suicide, and I’ll ask Ms. Keane about her son, what the process of grieving has been like, and what she’s learned about depression, chronic health conditions, and brain injuries in the years since Daniel’s death. Lynn Keane is an author and journalist. I first saw her some months ago on our friend Steve Paikin’s broadcast where she talked about suicide prevention, as she does frequently there and in other outlets both print and broadcast. Her website is at www.lynnkeane.ca. This book is published by Starburst Digital. It’s a tremendous book. I breezed through it rather quickly, not because it’s an easy read or a short one, but because it’s a compelling read. It’s wonderfully heartfelt, punctuated by Daniel’s likability, as well it gives voice to the grief that death brings a mother, a family, and a community. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in Oakville, Ontario, Lynn Keane; Ms. Keane, good morning. [Watch: ‘A Letter to Daniel’ http://vimeo.com/88456399]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (29.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS