Lisa Sugarman, an author and columnist, has worked as a crisis counselor for the Trevor Project’s lifeline for almost two years, as a storyteller with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and as a grief group facilitator and mental health advocate. She has made an impact in conversations around the LGBTQ+ community and helped to decrease the stigma of suicide.
Sugarman said after learning of her father’s suicide 10 years ago, she began actively talking about it with others. She said it is healthy and necessary to talk about it to dilute or eradicate the stigma surrounding it.
“It’s the only way we normalize having these kinds of conversations about suicide, mental wellness, and sexuality,” she said.
Sugarman, who has spent much of her life in Marblehead, said that sharing vulnerability helped to create a safe space to be open and more transparent.
She recently signed a contract with her longtime publisher to write a memoir about her father.
“It’s about my father, but it’s much more than a memoir; it’s going to be part memoir, part resource guide, part toolkit,” Sugarman said.
Sugarman said that it is one thing to tell someone a story that might encourage others to share their story, be vulnerable, or take action, but she is writing a story for people who are survivors of suicide loss.
“What do they do once they read the story? Who do they call, how do they help themselves, how do they help someone else?” Sugarman said. “I want them to have every resource in this one place that can help.”
Sugarman’s website also has curated resources available. It addresses not only suicide, but also grief and loss.
And, as June is Pride Month, Sugarman’s latest article on her website also talks about how she came out as pansexual a few years ago.
Sugarman, who has been happily married for 31 years, said that her biggest motivator to come out was to be authentic and match what is inside her and what she is putting out in the world.
Sugarman and her husband have two daughters, and the oldest has been out for roughly five years. Sugarman said she came to realize she was withholding her truth after having conversations with her daughter, who educated her on the nuances of the queer community.
“It didn’t have an impact. I wasn’t going to leave their dad. It was about, I can’t live knowing this is who I am without sharing. Our belief system is that you should be you,” Sugarman said.
To learn more about Sugarman, her resource guide, and her toolkit, visit https://lisasugarman.com/