Movie Spoiler Alert. We recently watched a movie featuring Tom Hanks called ‘Otto’ which was poignant, sweet and funny. Hanks is an incredible actor and I was looking forward to seeing it, and from the trailer, thought it was going to be a modern day improved version of ‘Gumpy Old Men’.

However, it may be quite distressing if anyone in your family or close circle has been suicidal, attempted suicide, or taken their life. It was for me. My grief from 1985 following the successful suicide of someone I loved, and many other losses since then (we all have losses) all came back to haunt me. The memories and feelings after his attempts to take his life also retuned, and quite unexpectedly, watching this movie provided a glimpse into what it might feel like for the person, after a failed attempt. It was distressing, even all these years on. David was an identical twin, and I wrote about the grief of a surviving twin in 2014.

Two people in my circle have had young people they love attempt suicide in the last couple of weeks, and the devastation, sadness and feelings of hopelessless, and of not being able to do anything to help, are pervasive and difficult to deal with. It certainly was like that for me.

I’m glad I saw the movie ‘Otto’, but wish the trailer and reviews I’d seen had warned me…