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Knowing We’re Not Alone When We Feel Most Alone is One of The Most Dynamic Shifts We Can Experience

Craig Stanland
3 min readJul 16, 2021

Suicide is a topic that we don’t discuss enough, and it’s a topic I don’t think we can discuss too much.

Shame tells us that we are alone- that we are the only ones who feel how we feel. The isolation is suffocating — and this is precisely why suicide needs to be discussed.

So we can remove the stigma and know we’re not alone. Knowing we’re not alone when we feel most alone is one of the most dynamic shifts we can experience.

I’d like to share an excerpt from my new book, “Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison.”

I had emerged from my suicidal thoughts, and this is the wish I had.

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FORTY

“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.”

CHARLIE CHAPLIN

***

I have a recurring daydream, a wish for myself.

I travel back to prison and observe myself from the outside. I’m like a ghost, floating above the cement walls, across the room from my cube. The guards have just completed the ten o’clock count. I watch as I climb into bed and settle into the sheets. I know what comes next. I know what he’s…

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Craig Stanland
Craig Stanland

Written by Craig Stanland

From corporate success to federal prison, I share my journey to rediscover joy, meaning, and purpose. Join me in reinventing your extraordinary second act!

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