"Having a child hospitalized with a depression takes all of your time, all of your energy, and all of your focus," one mother commented to me after her daughter had been hospitalized out of the blue for a suicide attempt. "You know, the first day our daughter was in the hospital, we were shell shocked, could barely move."

Only gradually does one put one’s life back in order. When a child is in the hospital, the need to ask questions, to advocate, to constantly force the issue of how plans will be made, is all-important. Only gradually, after the immediate concerns were taken care of, could this mother begin to deal with her hurt, rage, sense of loss, and complete confusion about her daughter’s unexpected suicide attempt. The steps along the way to recovery were first adjusting to the ward, then readjusting to her daughter’s being home and her gradual reentry into school, and then coping with a continuous back-and-forth, heart-in-the-throat agony about whether she would attempt suicide again.

This passage was taken from Out of the Darkened Room, a book written for families facing depression. Out of the Darkened Room is published by Little, Brown, and Company and can be purchased at your local bookstore, through the publisher’s website (www.twbookmark.com), or at any major online book retailer.