As I was scrolling on Facebook this morning, something stopped me in my tracks: PostSecret shared the image of a secret I submitted more than a decade ago β maybe even 15 years ago at this point.
So much has changed since I submitted that secret, which felt, at the time, all-consuming. Reading the comments on the Facebook post made me laugh β so many people encouraging me to do the opposite of what I actually did. As it turns out, sometimes people ARE important enough to keep around, even if moments are painful. Friendship is not black and white; relationships change and evolve; people grow, separately and can reunite. Today, we are friends β still and again β living in the same city and spending time together with our spouses and children.
I remembered seeing the Hopeline phone number Call on PostSecret. I talked to someone there for 2 and a half hours and I truly feel that they saved my life. Thank you for the website, thank Hopeline CAll for being there, and thank the people that send in their postcards so that others know they are not alone with their secrets. I wanted to say thank you for posting the email from Casie. I was also hoping you could pass along a message to her, as well.
I want to thank her for having the courage to reach out for help and then share it with you and all of your readers, using her real name and even her picture. Every time I see the new secrets on Sunday, I scroll down to see Casie. For me a mental health counselor she balances out the bleak postcards and reminds me that people CAN come back from the brink of suicide.
As soon as I jumped from the bridge, I had instant regret, all I wanted to do was reach back to the rail, but it was gone. I mean, you can always do it later. PostSecret Patreons can visit the museum for free. Along with hundreds of postcards, this second PostSecret mailbox is on display at the museum too.
