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About

What is Live Through This?

About

What is Live Through This?

Established in 2010, Live Through This is a collection of portraits and true stories of suicide attempt survivors across the United States.

Suicide: we don’t know how to talk about it, and we’re afraid to think about it. Whether we avoid it or confront it head on, the truth is that suicide does not discriminate. Nearly two million Americans attempt suicide each year. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the country. Suicide kills over 100 Americans every day, and nearly 50,000 of us every year.

1.7 million Americans attempted suicide in 2021 (the most recent year for which we have data). Ninety percent of those people will go on to live out the natural course of their lives. Unfortunately, prior to a decade ago, suicide attempt survivors were an almost unilaterally anonymous group—millions of people shamed into silence and reduced to statistics, living in constant fear of prejudice and discrimination at home and in the workplace.

Media coverage and public attention typically focus on people who died from suicide, rather than those who lived to tell the tale, forfeiting an important opportunity to truly understand the complicated issue of suicide from a first-person perspective. Research tells us, however, that these stories are important: public attitudes change when people are exposed to those affected by mental health differences. Suicide is not always connected to mental health diagnoses (54% of Americans who died by suicide between 1999-2016 did not have known mental health differences), but I believe these findings can be extrapolated to the issue of suicide.

Live Through This fills that gap, reminding us that suicide is a human issue by elevating and amplifying attempt survivors’ voices through raw, honest stories of survival, and pairing them with portraits of those survivors in the moments just after telling their stories—putting faces and names to the statistics that were the only representation of attempt survivors for far too long. It breaks stereotypes and cultural assumptions about those affected by displaying a depth and breadth of experiences of suicidality from Americans across the nation. It shows that suicide does not discriminate, but transcends categorization (like age, race, faith, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or profession). It has the potential to affect us all. Just take a look at the portraits.

By participating in Live Through This, survivors take a stand: suicide is not shameful. The stories and experiences shared in Live Through This can inform and guide productive change in creating a world worth living in—for all of us.

Live Through This is the first known project of its kind, and the most extensive catalog in existence of stories told by suicide attempt survivors, for suicide attempt survivors. Its mission is to change public attitudes about suicide for the better; to reduce prejudice and discrimination against attempt survivors; to provide comfort to those experiencing suicidal thoughts by letting them know that they’re not alone and tomorrow is possible; to give insight to those who have trouble understanding suicidal thoughts and actions, and catharsis to those who have lost a loved one; and to be used as a teaching tool for clinicians in training, or anyone else who might benefit from a deeper understanding of first-person experiences with suicide.

Live Through This has been featured by CNNCBS Evening News, VICE News, Upworthy, the New York Times, and more.

Our stories can save lives. You are not alone. Please stay.

A Further Note to the Reader:

In my work with Live Through This, I intentionally set out to collect stories from suicide attempt survivors with a wide range of experiences, and to document their stories in a way that is honest and authentic to who they are. Our community has long been silenced and pushed to the margins; in recognition of that fact, my job is to hold space for survivors as they share, whether or not I agree with their perspective. I will also occasionally publish details from a survivor’s story that are graphic and potentially triggering. If one of these stories makes you uncomfortable, know that it likely made me feel the same way. Live Through This is inclusive of every story I have collected (unless a survivor requests otherwise after I’ve conducted the interview). Ultimately, this collection of diverse voices illustrates that suicide can affect any of us—not just those we can imagine being our friend. Please read with care.

Citing Live Through This in Academic Work

Live Through This is a body of work I’ve been building on for over a decade. If you choose to use it as a reference, please cite it accurately, giving appropriate credit where it’s due. If you’re feeling particularly courteous, you could even send me an email (des@livethroughthis.org) to let me know.

Suggested APA citation for the homepage/the project as a whole:

Stage, D. L. (2010). Live Through This. https://livethroughthis.org

Suggested APA citation for a single story:

Stage, D. (Ed.) (date*). First-name Last-name is a suicide attempt survivor. This is his/her/their story [Interview]. Live Through This. https://livethroughthis.org/firstname-lastname

* You can find the date an interview was conducted in the introduction to each story.

NOTE: This work is not to be used in contexts beyond academic or journalistic work without explicit written permission. I shouldn’t have to tell anyone that, but here we are. Please don’t exploit people and their stories, or this work I’ve put years of my life and time and heart into.

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events scheduled at the moment. Check back soon!

Bring LTT To You

Now booking for 2023 and 2024! To inquire about availability for speaking engagements, please reach out to des@livethroughthis.org. You can also find more information here.

 

About the Artist

My name is Dese’Rae L. Stage.

The nutshell: I’m an artist, mom, suicidologist, social worker, educator, advocate/activist (which of the latter depends on how angry I am), and therapist.

I’m a self-taught photographer with experience in music journalism and crisis intervention training. I also have lived experience with suicidality and suicide loss—experiences I center in my work. I tie these threads together with Live Through This.

Live Through This has received media coverage from CBS Evening News, VICE, Upworthy, the New York Times, TIME, and many more. I speak about my work and experiences at universities and suicide prevention events, including the NIMH Director’s Innovation Speaker Series alongside Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison. Live Through This is used as a resource by clinicians and as a teaching tool at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I’ve partnered with research teams in an effort to bring attempt survivor experiences to the forefront of suicide research. I’ve received a SXSW Community Service Award, a SAMHSA Voice Award, the American Association of Suicidology’s Transforming Lived Experience Award and first place in their Paul G. Quinnett Lived Experience Writing Contest. I’m a protagonist in a documentary about suicide prevention advocates called The S Word, screening nationwide. My byline has appeared in Cosmopolitan (gay divorce), CNN (suicide), Romper (infertility), and more.

I live in Philadelphia with my babies, my dog, Dolly Parton, and my cat, Betty White. Before I had kids, my hobbies included melting into the couch watching Netflix marathons, dive bar jukebox takeovers, live music, beer (opaque, viscous, sweet stouts or the funkiest of sours) and cocktails, and talking about suicide. Now, my hobbies are naps, talking about suicide, and talking about infertility. I’m fun at parties.

You can see more of my work at deseraestage.com and you can download my full CV here.

Want to support Live Through This?

Live Through This is made possible in part by donations from incredible humans like you. If the project moves you and you have even a single dollar to spare, please consider donating. Every dollar donated goes straight back into the project. These funds allow for gear, web real estate and hosting, travel associated with the project, professional fees, conference attendance, and more.

For more ways to support Live Through This, be sure to check out the store, join in on the #STAY campaign by sharing a picture of you in your Live Through This gear, and subscribe to our mailing list!

About Live Through This
Live Through This is a series of portraits and true stories of suicide attempt survivors. Its mission is to change public attitudes about suicide for the better; to reduce prejudice and discrimination against attempt survivors; to provide comfort to those experiencing suicidality by letting them know that they’re not alone and tomorrow is possible; to give insight to those who have trouble understanding suicidality, and catharsis to those who have lost a loved one; and to be used as a teaching tool for clinicians in training, or anyone else who might benefit from a deeper understanding of first-person experiences with suicide.
More Information
Tax-deductible donations are made possible by Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization, which sponsors Live Through This. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Live Through This must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Please Stay
If you’re hurting, afraid, or need someone to talk to, please reach out to one of the resources below. Someone will reach back. You are so deeply valued, so incomprehensibly loved—even when you can’t feel it—and you are worth your life.
Find Help

You can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Trans Lifeline is at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada). The Trevor Project is at 866-488-7386. If you’d like to talk to a peer, warmline.org contains links to warmlines in every state. If you’re not in the U.S., click here for a link to crisis centers around the world. If you don’t like talking on the phone, you can reach the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

NOTE: Many of these resources utilize restrictive interventions, like active rescues (wellness or welfare checks) involving law enforcement or emergency services. If this is a concern for you, you can ask if this is a possibility at any point in your conversation. Trans Lifeline does not implement restrictive interventions for suicidal people without express consent. A warmline is also less likely to do this, but you may want to double-check their policies.

Live Through This is dedicated to the lives of so many friends and family members lost to suicide over the years. If you would like to add the name of a loved one to this list, please email me.
Live Through This is dedicated to the lives of so many friends and family members lost to suicide over the years. If you would like to add the name of a loved one to this list, please email me.