Ten years ago today we lost my brother Jim. At forty-seven, he was in his prime. I lament the unfinished promise of his life, and all that it held for his two sons. I mourn for my sister’s children and my own, for all they lost in
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By Kristina Cowan On March 11, the World Health Organization made official what many anticipated: It called the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Within days, the world closed. Everything from restaurants to businesses to schools shuttered, sending everyone home to “slow the spread.” Work and school from home
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My brother, Jim, would be fifty-four today. We lost him to suicide seven years ago. Like many before, he lost a battle with depression. As of 2018*, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. That works out to an average of one
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Today is World Mental Health Day. Every October 10, the World Health Organization asks those working in the mental-health arena to talk about what we do, and discuss ways we can improve and expand mental-health care for everyone, everywhere. This year, the WHO is focused on suicide
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Postpartum depression is gaining ground. For the first time, the U.S. government has approved a drug made specifically to treat it. The medication is administered through an intravenous drip for 60 hours. Patients will have to be admitted to a medical facility to receive it, and fork
Read more →My first book, When Postpartum Packs a Punch: Fighting Back and Finding Joy, recently celebrated one year at market. A personal account of my encounter with postpartum depression, and revelatory of other parents’ journeys through perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, it’s gathered praise from the parents, experts,
Read more →Coverage of maternal mental health seems to be increasing. I was surprised to find this story while flipping through the latest issue of Vogue magazine. That a publication dedicated to couture and beauty has delved into a gritty topic beyond the comfort zone of at least
Read more →We all face affliction; we all need hope. Affliction breeds the strongest hope. We may not realize it while we’re stuck in the mire, but it’s there we build strength. Strength that’ll one day bolster others–sometimes sooner than we realize. I talk about this in my book,
Read more →It’s been almost a decade since I left the East Coast. Mostly, I don’t miss it. That is, until I fall back into the rhythm unique to the corridor between D.C. and Boston. I had a chance to do that on a recent trip to Philadelphia, to
Read more →Suicide is one of the most uncomfortable topics around. If we say we lost someone to suicide, it might be perceived as a weakness, a selfish act, a stain on their character. Not so if they died from cancer or heart disease. But like other ailments, suicide is uninvited. Suicide and
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