Parents Of Suicide Writings Library Introduction to Darren Bob and Lynda Humphrey January 8, 2001 Our names are Bob and Lynda; we live in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. Our son Darren died by suicide 31st August, 1998, aged 19 years 8 months, he hanged himself whilst on holiday in France with two friends. A little bit about Darren: Darren loved art, music, comedy, and enjoying life. We didn't know he had been depressed but apparently, as we were told afterwards, he had been down a few times in front of his friends since about April 1998. In that month he was asked to leave the last of his "A" level courses (it was art). Up till then he had been working part-time for a DIY & Builders Materials retailer called Wickes. Because he was no longer a student in May he applied for 2 full-times jobs with the company, he was offered both. In June he started working as a Perpetual Inventory Controller, it was a minor supervisory role, the first step up the ladder to management. Occasionally when he came home from work he would seem down, but we put it down to the stress of the job, and he used to go up to his bedroom, play on his guitar or his computer, then come down and be all right. We spoke about his future with regard to art, but he said to us that when he came back from holiday he was going to take lessons on the electric guitar and hopefully take that further. Darren had done a bungee from a crane at Chelsea in London, 300ft above the River Thames in October 1997. Before his holiday he had arranged for his work mates to do the same bungee jump on the Saturday after he was due back from holiday. He had also arranged to go to a concert in September with a mate (and he had paid for both of these events). A little bit about ourselves: We have a daughter, Michelle, aged 25, and a granddaughter, Chloe, aged 6. They live in their own flat, about 5-10 minute drive from us. Michelle is separated from her husband. We go to 3 different branches of The Compassionate Friends a month, and we go to a Cruse group once a month specifically for Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide. We find it very useful to go to these self-help groups, where we talk and listen to other bereaved parents (or as in Cruse other survivors of suicide). In the last couple of months we started going to S.O.B.S. (Survivors Of Bereavement by Suicide) functions. So far we have been to a 1 day conference and a weekend "retreat". Written by: Bob and Lynda Humphrey Parents of Darren 12/15/78 – 08/31/98 May our children's spirits continue to fly, on . . . on into the great blue yonder