Murder Suicide is not often talked about yet is happening in our communities more often than we think. It is not just the immediate survivors affected, it is those with whom the person worked, the people who went to school with them, the neighbors, church members, the emergency responders, the list goes on. Grief is lifelong, and often is something you learn to carry. The grief of a murder suicide is often extremely complex and can be a burden that is hard to carry.

Many therapists do not have the tools to support a survivor. A survivor often cannot go to a grief support group as they feel like it would be “too much” to share. Depending on the type, a survivor can often feel isolated, alone, people not knowing what to say or do around them. Yet, these survivors need our help, our support. And not just after the event, for the rest of their lives as they carry that immense burden of loss.

This collection shares some of the experiences of people who are survivors of a murder suicide. They are brave to share, to help people to understand the lonely and often misunderstood path they walk. We believe through sharing these stories, we can help others understand better, thereby creating the path for more support in the future.

Our collective hope is that it will help others to step out of the shadows and add their voices. As we have all learned, recovery can be messy. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all, cookie cutter solution. The diversity of experiences demands a matching diversity of suggested solutions.

We also hope that this book may act as a prompt to generate funding and interest for more research around all aspects of murder-suicide and postvention recovery.