Friday the 13th of January 2012. The worst day of our lives. Mary found our 31-year-old daughter Brook lifeless in her bed in our home. She had taken her own life. It was the tragic culmination of fifteen years of struggle with mental illness, depression and suicidal thoughts rooted in a traumatic event she experienced when she was sixteen years old. Stories like hers are seldom told, yet more common than most people realize.

As survivors of suicide loss, we are twice as likely to die by suicide ourselves. While it is a dreadful thought, we understand it. Hopelessness can be contagious. We count ourselves among the fortunate who have found renewed hope in our lives thanks to the support of our family, friends and caring community, and in particular NAMI Tallahassee and the Bluebird Run for Brookie B.

The Bluebird Run for Brookie B was first held in 2015 as a memorial to Brook and all the other loved ones we have lost to suicide. It is an event to honor their memory, and much more. It is an event to celebrate our own mental health and the opportunities we all have to share.

As a community we join together to promote awareness of the social challenge of suicide and promote the mental health resources available to us in our own community.

Over the years we have seen thousands of Bluebird supporters traverse the greenway on Labor Day. There have been teams and families running and walking for their lost loved ones. There have been joyful jogs and gritty runs. There have been more smiles than you can count. And there have been souls watching over it all and praying for our welfare.

If you are looking for a place to put your heart or at least some of your valuable time, please look further at our website. There are so many ways to be a part of this touching event. Please join us on Labor Day for the Bluebird Run for Brookie B, complete with hugs and handshakes around the party tent.

Thank you!

Bill and Mary Bowers