Above & Beyond's Paavo Siljamäki

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Above & Beyond's Paavo Siljamäki Talks Burnout And Staying "Mentally Fit" At Miami Winter Music Conference

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The British trance figure opens up about staying on top of your mental health at a Miami Winter Conference panel called Survive the Madness: Music and Mental Health, presented by the Recording Academy and MusiCares
Rachel Brodsky
MusiCares
May 6, 2019 - 12:31 pm

A musician's lifestyle certainly sounds romantic: constantly on the road, meeting new people every night, playing shows to sold-out crowds. But the touring life isn't all glitz and glam. Navigating music industry success can actually result in neglect of one's mental health. This is exactly the topic MusiCares and the Recording Academy explored in a panel called Survive the Madness: Music and Mental Health at Miami Winter Conference in late March of this year.

Featuring Paavo Siljamäki from GRAMMY-nominated British trance group Above & Beyond, the panel explored the performer's journey, which he spoke about with MusiCares senior director Jennifer Leff.

"What is mental health to you," she asked?

May 6, 2019 – 12:29 pm

Paavo Siljamäki At Miami Winter Music Conference

"I made the wrong choice internalizing my stress," said Siljamäki. "About a year and a half ago, I was ready to leave music. I saw music as the source of all of my pain, so for me the solution was for me, to quit the band." 

"Quite quickly I realized that that's not the way I could keep going," he continued. "The way for me to go forward is to look at what led to this point, how can I actually learn from this, how can I go on? And I ended up going to doing this thing called the Hoffman Process in the U.K. They actually helped me in a group therapy setting to find the reasons why I burned out. And I realized that a lot of other people burn out too. I'm not unique in any way... I've been able to really look at what causes me stress and I've refound my love for music."

Watch the entire interview with Siljamäki above. 

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MusiCares & GRAMMY Museum Open The Vault For Charity Auction: Guitars, Box-Sets, Vinyl & More

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Peruse dozens of new auction items, including music collectibles and one-of-a-kind signed items, up for auction on eBay with proceeds benefitting MusiCares and the GRAMMY Museum
Nate Hertweck
MusiCares
Jul 15, 2019 - 5:38 pm

Music fans, now's your chance! MusiCares and the GRAMMY Museum have opened their vault for a new eBay auction offering a wide array of unique items, signed instruments, box-sets, vinyl, magazines, photos and much more.

For instance, musicians and instrument collectors will love guitars signed by the likes of Slash & Kirk Hammett, Tony Alva and The Wanted, microphones signed by P. Diddy and James Bay, and even a signed Roland Vocoder and drum machine.  

The auction also includes an array of limited edition vinyl, box-sets and CDs from Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, Migos, The Smiths and many more, plus photos, magazines, sheet music and more - over 80 items in all!

Proceeds from the auction will benefit MusiCares and the GRAMMY Museum. MusiCares provides health and human services for music people and the GRAMMY Museum explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process and the history of the GRAMMY Awards. 

Items start at just $9. Browse the auction now at ebay.com/grammy. 

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Lalah Hathaway

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Lalah Hathaway On Mental Health Awareness: "You Can Never Look At A Person And See What They're Going Through"

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On the 40th anniversary of her father's passing, the soul singer and GRAMMY winner tells the Recording Academy how she keeps Donny's legacy alive through her music
Rachel Brodsky
MusiCares
Jun 19, 2019 - 4:22 pm

Lalah Hathaway is getting over a case of bronchitis, but that didn’t stop her from performing the other night. One gets the sense that the singer/songwriter, Recording Academy trustee, and daughter of the late ‘70s soul figure Donny Hathaway is always working—performing, yes, but also speaking out for causes near and dear to her heart.

“I definitely did not think of myself as an activist,” she tells the Recording Academy over the phone. “I do speak out quite often about justice and about what I see as truth, particularly in this country, particularly for marginalized people and women and people of color.”

Hathaway, who has earned five GRAMMY awards and 10 nominations in her decades-long career (she holds the record for the most Traditional R&B GRAMMY Performance Awards won, and the most consecutive wins by an R&B artist), is likewise passionate about ending negative stigmas around mental health care.

With 2019 marking the 40th anniversary since her father's passing (Donny Hathaway was diagnosed with paranoid schitzophrenia in the 1970s, and his death was ultimately deemed a suicide), Hathaway is staunch in her belief that "everybody needs help," no matter who you are or how together you appear on the outside. "[My father] was able to translate his vulnerability through the music. And that's why people it resonates with people so deeply." 

Below, Hathaway delves further into what she remembers of her father, how she keeps his legacy alive and what she wishes more people understood about the importance of mental healthcare.

May 15, 2017 – 1:50 am

Lalah Hathaway Wins Best Traditional R&B Performance GRAMMY

You've previously stated that it's important to you to use your platform to speak out on public issues. How have you done that over the years?

Well, I've definitely haven't thought of myself as an activist or an influencer. Or, you know, any of those words that they apply to people that have any kind of celebrity status, you know? I do speak out quite often about justice and about what I see as truth, particularly in this country, particularly for marginalized people and women and people of color.

So it's important to me that I have this little tiny soap box to say something important to the people that respect me or listen to me or give me their coins. When I create something for them, I want to be able to really interact with them in a real way about their lives, because they're absolutely also feeding my art. So, it's really important for me to have fun and be funny and have a great time and entertain people, but I'm also interested in knowing how people really feel and, and talking to them about how I really feel.

To what extent has your public speaking touched on mental health awareness? 

I haven't done anything major or official [around mental health awareness], but I do talk about mental health. I am a musician, I am a woman, I am black. All of those things mean there's a little crazy all around me at all times.

At this point in my life, to look around me and see that there's a whole crop of 20, 30-year-olds discussing what's happening with them.... We weren't really doing that. It's a beautiful evolution where people are saying, "I'm depressed, I need to take a break." People are understanding how to give themselves a little bit of a break and give a little bit of vulnerability to it, which I don't think existed in the time like in the '60s and the '70s. People knew what was happening, but nobody was really talking about it.

I know that I didn't even utter the word, "schizophrenia," about my father until I was damn near 30. And it wasn't that I was ashamed of it, I just didn't understand how to grasp it. And so when people would speak about him in terms of his schizophrenia, which my mother has always been super open and educated about, I did not connect with it.

I think there is a lot more vulnerability right now. I think people are a lot more aware. People are talking. There's ways to reach out across socials to people that you don't have to necessarily be vulnerable right in front of, which I think is helpful for a lot of people and changing a lot of things.

I just try to be a sounding board. I'm not necessarily telling people on days that I'm down like, "Hey, I'm down," but I try to be a sounding board so people might think that a lot of the music that I create ends up being a cathartic experience for people. 

"I wish the thing that people would do is try to be kind to people and treat them as they would like to be treated."

How did you begin to offer that, as you call it, "sounding board" to your community? 

I've had a website since 1998 called LalahHathaway.com. [But] we called it The Pink Room because the aesthetic of it was all pink. It predates Facebook, it predates Twitter. We had this really wonderful message board where people would come in from all over the world. I was in there every day talking to people, finding out where everybody is [located] and how people feel. 

And I realized that people really want to be heard. People want to be validated. So when you are in your room or talking to a group of people that are busy, or a bunch of folks that are doing other stuff, your feelings sometimes go out to a wall and then just bounce back at you, which sometimes makes you feel more crazy. I feel like there's a ripple effect when you're online sometimes, where you go in [with] like a little sad-face emoji, and there's 16 people in there, like, "Hey, chin up." And I really think that's a small thing, but that makes big difference to know that someone heard you. Someone sensed in that little emoji your vulnerability and reached back out to give you some hope and to give you some light and some little gentle internet hug. And I think that's the good part of the internet.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Donny's passing. Do you recall to what extent he received help when he was still alive?

Yeah. Kind of. So my dad left when I was 10 years old. And my memory of my life is very sketchy. Some of my memories are coming back, which is crazy, and some of them I'll share and some of them I'm keeping, 'cause people have been asking me about them since I was 11. 

My mother put [my father] in the hospital at some point, and I think there was some resistance to it from his family or from his peers.

I'm sure that's an age-old story. My mother really educated herself and really did the best that she could to keep her family together. [But] there are always vultures. There are always people around you that try and encourage you to keep going in the direction that you're going in. I'm certain there was drugs and alcohol involved, which just exacerbate the whole thing.

So I know that he was hospitalized and I know that he was medicated. I think at some point, he, like many people, didn't like the way that medication felt and probably stopped taking it. And I know so many, so many artists, even today, right now, as we speak, that are going through that same thing.

Yeah. There's definitely a trope that medicating mental-health conditions or becoming sober can alter creativity. 

Yeah, it's really something. You know, I think sometimes particularly with, I mean, we can look back and see so many great artists who were riddled with what was probably trauma and depression and drug use. And I think people have a different section of what spurs their art. You know? But it's so subjective. It's just a crazy thing.

I know that I used to be a cigarette smoker. I smoked for many years and then I quit. The second to the last time I quit they prescribed Wellbutrin for me. And Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant. They don't know why it helps you stop smoking, but it does. I would get up in the morning and I would be fine, and I would take the Wellbutrin, and then I didn't feel fine. I felt really middle. I had no highs, I had no lows. I didn't smoke. But I eventually had to come off of it because I couldn't feel anything. And for an artist, that is paramount. This is the main thing I hear artists complaining about with medication. That they cannot feel the up or the down.

How do you try to keep your father's legacy alive in your own life and work?

My sister and I are both musicians. We both do this on a professional level. We have both clearly committed our lives to music and art in that way. My mom is a musician, as well.

And so, for me, a lot of times when I'm standing there, like the other night on stage and singing a song to you, I'm not even there. So, I know that I represent my parents and I know that my dad comes through me and is able to speak in a way through me and I know that he was here, in a small way, so I could get here. And I'm here in a little bit bigger way, so he can stay here. 

What do wish more people understood about mental-health care and awareness? 

You know, that's a hard one. Because you can never look at a person and see what they're going through. You'll never walk around in their shoes. You know how you see these memes and they say, "Check on your strong friends, 'cause they probably are suffering a lot. Check on your weaker friends, cause they need more help." Everybody needs help.

I wish the thing that people would do is try to be kind to people and treat them as they would like to be treated. Just assume that everybody needs a little extra and give that out. And the great thing about that is it's going to bounce back to you. For all that you give out, you could never deplete it. It's going to come back to you.

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Palehound

Photo by Bao Ngo

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Palehound's Ellen Kempner Is Learning To Love Herself

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On her third studio album, 'Black Friday,' the Boston-based singer/songwriter goes deep on what it means to love yourself—and mean it
Rachel Brodsky
MusiCares
Jun 17, 2019 - 4:54 pm

Ellen Kempner, a.k.a. Palehound, wants to talk about bodies. To clarify: not "body positivity," which the Boston-based folk-pop singer/songwriter calls "condescending" and "ineffective."

Instead, Kempner, who has recently released a heartfelt third studio album, Black Friday, is more interested in the idea of body acceptance, starting with her own.

The 25-year-old hasn’t always had an easy time talking about her body, which she acknowledges is different than that of your prototypical, waif-thin indie-rock performer. Grappling with her appearance has been a tricky journey for Kempner, who has also struggled with anxiety, depression and the decision to come out as a queer woman, which she did in 2017.

While her previous album, 2017's Dry Food, showcased an honest conversation around sexual identity, Kempner stares down her vulnerability on Black Friday, which ties in themes of self-loathing, the aforementioned acceptence (of herself and others), love and relationships, and radical personal change. A sweetly strummed single called "Aaron," for example, is a gentle ode to her long-term partner, who came recently came out as trans. Speaking to Fader about the track, Kempner said, "I was watching [my partner] have this allegiance to his body and really commit to himself, even though it was really hard and painful. That inspired me also to be like, what can I do to exhibit the same amount of self-love?"

Kempner sat down with the Recording Academy to offer more insight into Black Friday, her not-always-straightforward path to building self-esteem, and how Lizzo gave her an unexpected boost of confidence.

Congrats on Black Friday. Would you tell me a bit about how you arrived at the name, as well as the reasoning behind obscuring your image with a yarn mask on the cover?

I thought that that concept [of "Black Friday"] worked best for being the name of the album because what, to me, it represents is like, the holiday—It's not really a holiday, I guess. It's just kind of like this really kind of dark portrait of us all competing with each other for things, like material things that we're told we need to be happy and successful. And that theme of competition with other people and everyone wanting the same thing and most people not being able to get that thing.

Just that longing that we all have for the same things: to be "happy" and "successful" in life.

That's kind of unrelated to the yarn. The yarn mask is its own thing. I had it commissioned by my friend, she goes by "GAUDMOTHER." 

One of my biggest obstacles as a musician in this industry, in this world, is just the kind of pressure, especially as a girl or like a femme person, the pressure to be sexy and the pressure to be an image like that's also crucial, it's as crucial as the music in some ways.

And I have battled a lot of discomfort, and a lot of self-hate as a result of being in this business. So I was thinking, how can I represent that? And then I was thinking, like, well, I would love to be confident enough to put my face on an album cover. Which I see a lot of people do, but I'm not confident enough to do that. So I commissioned a mask of my face.

Yeah, you got me thinking about why people gravitate toward indie-rock circles to begin with, starting in, say—to use my own experience—high school. Indie-rock once felt like a place for misfits to seek refuge. But hey, even that circle has its own standards of traditional beauty! Kind of ironic.  

So, so heavily, yeah.

I wonder, what was the first time that you felt that paradox?

Immediately. It was immediate. I was 19 when I started playing shows as Palehound. And you know, when I started I was younger, I was thinner. I was by superficial standards, "hotter." And I definitely felt that pressure immediately, even in the D.I.Y. scene.

My first tour I got really sick, like mentally. I gained a lot of weight, basically. This was in my first year of playing, it was my first tour. That's when I noticed it. I noticed, in general, less engagement with people, and less engagement from, in a way that I was used to before. I don't know, it's really hard to explain. It's really just a feeling. And that's when I was like, “Oh f**k.” And I felt it. I felt resentment towards my body, and I felt the disinterest coming from people because of that. Like, there was a tangible shift, once I gained weight, basically. Where there was a certain kind of support and attention that I wasn't getting anymore.

Wow,  yeah. And what was that like for you to realize?

It hit hard. I started panicking. That's when my anxiety [took off]. I mean, I've had really bad anxiety my whole life, but that's when I started having panic attacks and I started being super-conscious about what I ate, and my body. I tried dieting and all these things that just were not working.

Because the depression and anxiety that had been instilled in me, it was hard for me to keep a routine, to lose weight. And it started kind of spiraling for me, a little bit. I was feeling like my body was getting in the way of my dream. There were people that I was playing shows with who were these kind of beautiful, thinner girls that I was watching getting opportunities that I would've wanted to get. I wasn't necessarily competitive in that way. But I think I started seeing things like that and it started really getting in my head, you know?

Of course. Why does now feel like the right time to engage in a conversation about this?

Yeah, in the last album cycle I talked a lot about my queerness for the first time. But I really was not ready to talk about my body that way yet. I, like, had this idea that, oh maybe people won't notice my body if I don't say anything about it. Which is ridiculous. My fear is that if I said anything about it then people would notice.

I don't know, it's just a weird thing. So in a way, over the past few years it's been really bad. My anxiety. And on the last album my anxiety about my body was pretty bad, and I was pretty, you know still kind of intently trying to lose weight in this way that was not healthy. Not in a method that wasn't healthy, but the intention behind it wasn't healthy.

And then basically why I started talking about it, decide to want to write songs about it and talk about it on this record is that I kind of just decided that I don't want to change my body anymore and I don't want to have this battle the rest of my life. You know, with myself, and I kind of basically have tried to embrace self-love a lot more.

You mentioned earlier that you've previously addressed queerness in your music, which you again weave into Black Friday, specifically on "Aaron." Given the song’s subject matter, I wonder if you and your partner have bonded over the idea of feeling uncomfortable in your bodies?

I'm glad that you're asking about my partner because the theme of the album at the end of the day is all of us and our bodies. It doesn't have to be specifically for fat people. It could be for anyone who feels any discomfort about their body that has been placed upon them by this structure, this hellscape that we're all living in.

I hold monumental privilege in my body. I don't have to worry about being killed for how my body looks. Many, many people in this country do [have to worry about that], and in this world do.

But anyway, my partner, yeah, he's trans, and he came out to me about a year before he came out to everyone else. So there was a year that was when I was recording this album, that the two of us were having these really heavy conversations about him and what it meant for him to come out, and what he needed to do to feel happy in his body and if it was worth all of the risks. Like social risks, I mean. Not medical, or anything.

I love him so much, and I adore him and his body so much, and he adores me and my body so much, but we hated ourselves. And so we would just have these really sh*tty conversations where we're like, “Why are you with a person like me?”  

That actually inspired the song "Bullsh*t." It’s about having the same conversation where you're just trying to put yourself down while raising the other one up. And over all that time it really made both of us think about ourselves and our bodies. And, why do we hate each other so much?

And so it led to a lot of conversations about changing our bodies and how him changing his body is the absolute right thing to do, if that's what he wants to do. He can take testosterone, he can get top surgery. But for me changing my body and losing weight would be the unhealthy thing. So just talking about our situations that way, and adapting and becoming comfortable in your skin and what that means, really, in two very different contexts.

That’s wonderful that you have such a strong support system in each other. Feelings of self-doubt and insecurity can so easily manifest in being treated like garbage by emotionally abusive partners.

Totally. And that's why so many sh*tty bros joke about going after insecure girls, you know?

Definitely. You know, I also really latched on to the lyric "I think I’m due for another sh*tty tattoo." What significance does body art hold for you?

Oh, yeah. It's really funny ‘cause people have been asking me about that song. But that's kind of to me like the joke song from the album. I try not to write poppy, yucky stuff like that. Last year I got like a bunch of stick-and-pokes for the first time, and some tattoos, and I kind of was finding myself do it in this way that it just made me love my body more. It was so great to have control over my body that way. To be like yeah, I'm making this stupid decision to get this stupid thing tattooed on my ankle, but that's really empowering. And that feels really good, you know? And it kind of was like yeah, I had to kind of like make sure I wasn't getting too many tattoos at a certain point ‘cause I could see how it could get addicting for that reason.

Yeah, that song is about the euphoria I felt when I found a way that I could take ownership of my body.

It’s been heartening to see pop culture engage more actively in a conversation about representation, whether it’s to do with diverse body types, sexuality, gender identity or racial background. For example, when we see shows like Hulu’s Shrill, or hear Lizzo's music, does this create a sense of optimism in you? That society is ready to acknowledge and showcase our differences in a more nuanced way?

Well, even though our approach is really different and our music's really different, Lizzo has been monumentally inspiring. I’ve been following her for years. She's been giving me so much. You know her new album is like this joyous celebration of her body, and this really firm allegiance with it that she has is just really, really badass and cool. I've watched people’s reactions to her to see how that goes for her. If she gets a lot of hate, if she gets love. So that was really cool to see someone achieve more than I would've thought someone could in that position. I guess I underestimated myself through underestimating her, to some extent.

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Wade Bowen

Photo by Cambria Harkey

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Wade Bowen Talks New Documentary 'Inconsistent Chaos' & Vocal Cord Recovery

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The country singer/songwriter speaks to the Recording Academy and MusiCares about his road to recovery after being told he may never sing professionally again
Rachel Brodsky
MusiCares
Jun 12, 2019 - 10:10 am

2018 was one of the worst years of Wade Bowen's life. The Waco, Texas-based country performer, who released his 11th album, Solid Ground, in February, experienced a major health setback when his vocal cord hemorrhaged last year, forcing him to take a sabbatical from music.

What's more, his nephew, Chase Everett Cavender, who was a member of Bowen's tight-knit crew, passed away by suicide. 

Fortunately, Bowen's vocal cords made a full recovery with help from the professionals at Vanderbilt Voice Center, a Nashville, Tenn. organization affiliated with MusiCares, which provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need. Soon after, he began filming a short documentary chronicling his journey (watch it in full below).

Bowen was kind enough to sit down with MusiCares to talk about his journey to recovery and the documentary, titled Inconsistent Chaos, which is dedicated to his nephew.

When did you first realize you were having vocal cord issues?

I started having some issues in January of 2018 with a few shows here and there that I just kind of struggled through. But I got through them. Then towards the end of March it came back. I had a scratchy voice that just didn’t seem to clear up. I thought it was just bad allergies at first and took my normal steps to clear it up. It did nothing. I knew then something was wrong. I could just tell. Then I woke up one day in April and my voice was completely gone. Thats when I called my Godfather, Mace Brindley in Waco, Texas, who happens to be an ENT, and I went to see him a few days later on the way to a show. That’s when we found the hemorrhaging vocal cord.

What was the process of finding and receiving medical help like?

After my visit with Dr. Brindley, I fought through the two shows I had that weekend and then flew straight out to Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville, Tenn. They immediately shut me down for a minimum of three weeks.

Although she wasn’t sure at the time what was exactly going on, [Dr. Brindley] did inform me that my journey to get healthy was going to be a long one, so it made more sense for me to find a local Texas doctor since I was going to have to make so many visits. So she referred me to Dr. Blake Simpson in San Antonio. And it couldn’t have been a better choice. At first, he was hoping that simply time off would help and maybe clear up the hemorrhaging vocal cord. After two months it had not cleared up at all and the blood in the vocal cord caused it to be paralyzed. So my voice was still pretty much not working at all. Not even my speaking voice. He decided then that it was time for surgery to get a closer look.

So I went in for surgery on May 31, 2018. He was prepared for multiple scenarios. Luckily, when he went in, he found that the cause of the hemorrhaging was multiple leaky blood vessels in the vocal cord that would not stop bleeding. He didn’t know why. But the laser that he has on site is a very rare device and it actually got rid of the blood vessels completely, causing the vocal cord to finally start healing itself. I was back on the road (much to his dismay) a little over a month later. Although I was back, my voice wasn't normal again until November or so of that year. 

What was your state of mind during all of this, faced with the prospect of not being able to sing again?

Well honestly, I cried alot…worried a lot…prayed a lot… I even started pondering what I was gonna do if my voice never came back. That was the scariest part: not knowing if I was gonna be able to support my family or the band and crew, and their families as well. It was beyond tough. There was literally a time when I wondered if I would ever be able to sing again. But my family and friends were so incredible and strong for me and stayed positive through it all. 

When and how did you realize that you would, in fact, be able to resume a singing career?

Once the surgery was over, I had to be completely silent for eight days. I went back in and finally started seeing some results. The vocal cord was finally starting to not look red and bloody. And for the first time in three months, the doctor actually had some positive news for me. That was a huge sigh of relief. Dr. Simpson was brilliant and positive throughout the entire process and he kept me believing, even when I wasn’t sure.

I had a show at that time booked for July 3 that I had not yet canceled, hoping I could still do it. He asked that I not try it. He felt I needed more time. But I explained to him I was broke. [Laughs.] So we worked out a plan for me to do a 90 minute show, 45 of me singing, 45 with the band jamming and had special guests come out with me. I brought our friend Aaron Stephens out on the road to sing a few every night. My son Bruce was 12 at the time, and he came out with me and sang some as well, to help fill the time. It worked out great! We got through it and within a month I was doing the full 90 minutes again. 

Do you have a new health regimen of any kind surrounding your recovery?

I drink a ton more water and watch what I eat, for the most part. I also have a steaming machine I use before the show that really helps to get my voice warmed up. And then I have the vocal exercises I learned through my speech and vocal therapy! During the three months I was out, I had to do speech therapy to help take stress off the vocal cord, voice therapy to do the same, learn how to take care of it but also how to get myself out of trouble if my voice starts to bother me again. It was a ton of help learning that long, agonizing at times, process, and I’m so thankful I did it!

Why did you feel compelled to create a documentary about your journey?

Multiple reasons. For one, to let my fans and followers know that I had recovered. I think that was a major concern for many. We tried to keep it somewhat quiet during the process, so we didn’t alarm people. Additionally, although painted on a somewhat unique canvas, my problems were/are far from unique. Fear and depression affect us all no matter what the cause. Because I’ve got a platform enabling me to speak louder than most, I wanted to be sure the world could hear that it’s okay, there is help…. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to seek it. Tell a friend, a family member, a loved one that you need help. It doesn't make you weak or less cool.

The documentary is dedicated to your nephew. To what extent were you aware that he was struggling?

I wasn’t aware at all. None of us were. That’s been the toughest thing through this process because he had everything he ever wanted…a beautiful wife and an amazingly perfect son. I remember almost feeling jealous of him at bus call cause he would walk on the bus beaming with pride and smiling so proud. I’m not sure what happened that fateful night. None of us will every know. But he was happy. I know that for sure. I want his wife and son to always know he was truly happy. He just seemed to forget it one crazy night and we will never know why or how it got to that point.

What do you think society has left to learn about mental health awareness and the stigma around seeking help? What are some positive steps we've taken, but where do we have left to go, in your opinion?

Mental illness is real and it’s very deadly.  It’s horrible that it takes high-profile instances (Robin Williams, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, just to name a few) to prove there’s a severe problem. More funding is needed. Mental Illness is not going away. In fact, it’s getting worse every day. And it will continue to do so as long as there is a social stigma associated with the term. Those living and dealing with mental illness need to be rebranded as "courageous."  If we’re successful in building advocacy for them, we will keep them from having to suffer in silence. We have a long way to go. So let’s get to work!

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