Senator Smith & Suicide

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a reading and book signing by Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. It was a very emotional experience as his book is about the suicide of his 22 year old son (who would be my age today if he were still alive). It was especially poignant for me to realize that Senator Smith is a member of my Church, and his son had recently returned from a succesful mission in England. He says he has found healing in advocacy, and wants everyone to recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health, and deserves to be treated as such by insurance companies and legislative bodies. This is exactly in line with what I believe, stemming from my experience with Rep. Henbest in the Idaho legislature who was instrumental in passing a bill extending greater mental health parity to Idahoans. It was interesting for me to observe the incredible opposition that this idea has received over the last few years. I enjoyed meeting Senator Smith and as he signed my copy of the book "Remembering Garrett," I thanked him, saying that as a Latter Day Saint with an interest in public service, his career is very inspiring to me, to which he smiled and gave strong encouragement. The next morning he was on the Today Show talking about the book and his son's suicide. I hope you'll follow the link to watch the excellent interview.