Episode 33 - Healing from the loss of a loved one to suicide through Elegy for an Elephant with Ryan Abramowitz
Introduction to the episode.
Please note: this podcast episode refers to suicide and its impact. Please seek professional help if you need support. A list of mental health and counselling resources can be found in the show notes.
In this episode Laura Poole is joined by Melbourne-based artist and storyteller, and fellow Vedic meditator, Ryan Abramowitz, to talk about an important subject that can be shrouded in shame and stigma – suicide. Ryan is the author and artist of ‘Elegy for an Elephant’, a picture book he has been working on these past few years, after the loss of his own father to suicide.
There is a severe shortage of suicide bereavement resources available for families and mental health workers to draw upon when supporting those in grief. You may think picture books are just for kids, but they are actually an accessible format for all ages to address this complex subject matter.
An elegy is a lament, a passionate expression that honours those who have passed. Elegy for an Elephant chronicles Ryan’s family’s experience in processing the complexity of post-suicide grief. It has been crafted as a therapeutic resource for readers (aged 7+) who have lost loved ones, and those communities and caretakers supporting them through their mourning. While it touches on suicide, it more universally addresses how we come to terms with bereavement and access shapes of healing following the loss of loved ones.
We asked Ryan to come on the podcast as we wanted to share the journey he has been on creating this book, his own healing that has turned into a gift of healing for the world, and to create a space for him to share the research, love, and divine energy that has gone into it.
Elegy for an Elephant was released on World Suicide Prevention Day - September 10, 2023. If you know of anyone mourning the loss of a loved one, or if you’re a clinician, parent, mental health worker, meditation teacher, or school teacher, may you consider getting this book, which Ryan says is a gentle and warm hug, when needed in tender times.
Our prayer is that we all have the strength and vulnerability to open up the conversation around suicide in our personal and family lives. Small ripples create big change. We need to be there for each other.
Please see the show notes for links to the book and other resources we speak about, including mental health resources. Take care of yourselves, and big love.
“I struggled to come to terms with my father’s decision to end his life and felt that a picture book could help other grieving families in a similar position,” Abramowitz said. “There is a clear shortage of suicide related literature and I was determined to create a book that is both a warm embrace during a tender time, and an outlet for honouring human connection.” - Ryan
Resources.
Purchase Elegy for an Elephant
LIFELINE - Available 24/7 for crisis support
Call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14
Connect with Ryan.
About Ryan.
Ryan Abramowitz is a Melbourne based artist, writer and storyteller who draws inspiration from the natural world. He has worked in marketing, brand experience and communications across corporate, freelance and not-for-profit settings, and runs a business ‘Today Tomorrow Forever’ in which he creates wedding certificates and other bespoke artwork that celebrates life milestones. ‘Elegy for an Elephant’ is his first self-published book under Narratives of Nature.
