Dennis,

My husband & I have been a member of BILY since about 2000, for our son Eric. I am very sad at this time, because Eric has lost his battle with depression & alcohol addiction. With the constant, devoted help of Ed Watanabe, Cindy Nitschke, Renae Knight and others, we worked over the years to help constructively, while Eric was a teenager, and living away in New York, and after he returned home to the Dallas area following the Navy. The BILY group has never let us down.

I am offering today some words which I penned over the past 3 months since the accident that ended Eric’s life. I was told by Ed that our group has only lost about 4 or 5 BILY kids, and that Eric was the only suicide. I still think it is relevant and hope to encourage other parents to continue to seek help, whatever avenue feels best for them and to be hopeful, diligent and do not give up on their kids, no matter how old they become.

I wish I had more open communication with Eric over the 6 months prior to his death, but he grew distant and secretive. I knew the signs, but we ran out of time. He gave us enough random clues to give us encouragement that what we feared was not so, and he was not to be dissuaded from his ultimate goal. Please use this information as you feel appropriate for other BILY folks & their families. You are always in our thoughts and prayers as well as everyone who is affected by or struggles with addiction, depression, and dysfunction in their lives.

Terri