One quiet Saturday night, while Marjorie Antus and her husband were asleep, their daughter Mary overdosed on her antidepressant medication. Despite the hospital staff's struggle to save the young woman, Mary's life was over.
Mary's suicide left Marjorie wrestling with overwhelming emotions-moments of deep love and compassion for her daughter intermingled with intense anger that she had chosen to take her life. Stirring up Marjorie's inner turmoil even further were her religious beliefs. How could she possibly find God in the tragedy of Mary's death? But if she couldn't, what would it mean for Marjorie's faith in God?
My Daughter, Her Suicide, and God charts one mother's course as she reconciles herself to the tragedy and welcomes her daughter and God back into her heart. Told with uncommon candor, Marjorie's moving, somber reflection on suicide and its emotional impact on families and faith is ultimately a story about love.
About the Author: After her daughter's suicide, Marjorie Antus earned an MA in theology from the Washington Theological Union in Washington, DC. She taught in the Union's Carmelite studies program for several years.
For ten years, Antus facilitated a bereavement support group in her parish, and she now serves on the board of directors for her local National Alliance on Mental Illness affiliate. Since 2012 she has written MarysShortcut.com, a blog for the suicide bereaved.
Currently, Antus and her husband, John, live in Manassas, Virginia. The couple has been married for forty-two years and has two remaining adult children, John Paul and Lauren. She and John are members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel community in Washington, DC, a secular branch of the Order of Discalced Carmelites that promotes meditative prayer for the good of the church and the world.
