A Spiritual Recovery

Judy Collins is best known for her remarkable singing career, with more than 40 albums and several Grammy nominations to her credit. But she is also the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction. Her newest book, "Sanity & Grace" chronicles her recovery from her son Clark's suicide, in 1992, at age 33. Collins writes that she hopes the book will "shed more light upon the dark taboo of suicide." "Sanity & Grace," is part personal journey, part resource guide for others recovering from the suicide of a loved one. She spoke with Beliefnet about her spiritual journey after Clark's suicide, her multifaith outlook, and her beliefs about heaven and reincarnation.

Your book was very moving. It must have been very painful to write.

It was tough to write. But there are very few things you can do with these sorts of experiences except try to share them, to hopefully help people.

You write that recovering from a suicide is a spiritual journey. What do you mean by that?

Well, if I had not been already been meditating, I would certainly have had to start. I've treated my own depression for many years with exercise and meditation, and I've found that to be a tremendous help. Recovering from the suicide of a loved one, you need all the help you can get, so I very much recommend a meditation program. The whole picture of how to recover from this has to do with body, mind, and spirit. That's applicable to any kind of depression.

I have something I call the "Seven T's" that I like to use to help people going through this recovery. They're basic and mundane, but they help. Truth, Therapy, Trust, Try, Treat, Treasure, and Thrive. Truth is that there are no guilts in suicide. Therapy--there are so many networks for recovery, places to find healing and help and communication with other people who have suffered from this loss. Trust--you must live your life and not shut down. This contributes to a kind of post-traumatic illness associated with suicide, so we want to get out and talk about it, and talk about the person that we loved. Try means try to stay away from alcohol and drugs in the recovery. Treat the mind, body, and spirit-- exercise, meditate. Treasure the moments--journaling is very helpful for this. Thrive, the last of the seven, means to be positive, hopeful and loving and know that you can get through this.

Your book includes many journal entries you wrote during the past ten years. Had you kept a journal before Clark's suicide?

I've kept a journal for most of the second half of my life, probably about 30 or 35 years. Since the late 60s I've been journaling, and it's very helpful in every situation that I've gone through.

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