This is a story where we can take many lessons from.  Mindy McCready's suicide was the  fifth time she attempted to take her own life in the last seven years.  Her boyfriend David Wilson took his own life at their Heber Springs home in Arkansas on January 14.

Mindy's life is one of unhappiness and tragedy.  The 37-year-old's first suicide attempt was in July 2005 when she overdosed on pills and alcohol. It came two months after Billy McKnight,former fiance and father of her eldest son Zander assaulted her and left her in the hospital.  She was also facing legal troubles for a DUI  and using a fake prescription to buy OxyContin. 

LA Times music writer Mikael Wood told E! News: 'After  the altercation with McKnight she tried to cut ties with him. But there was a second attempt after she got back with him. She was found unconscious in a hotel lobby in Florida and hospitalized.'

This was McCready second overdose, in  September 2005, this time on antidepressants, while pregnant with her and McKnight's son Zander.   Wood said: '[Zander] turned out to be OK, but  there was a third attempt in 2008,' referring to the time she slit her wrists at  her home in Nashville.

The fourth attempt was in 2010. Wood said authorities took her to the hospital for an overdose though it was not clear if it was intentional or not.

'The fifth suicide attempt was the one that took her life,' Wood told E! News.

The lead singer of country rock group Soul Circus Cowboys said earlier this week McCready's suicide came as  no shock to him as he was with her when she tried it twice before.  He told the Today show: 'As sad as it is, it  didn’t come as a major shock, because she’s just been battling demons for so long. I was around her when she attempted suicide twice, so I knew it was in her...The demons that she hasn't beaten were still there, and until she was going to face them, something was going to happen.  Everyone who knows her personally knew that...She would have had to probably stay in somewhere [rehab] for quite a long time until she really healed and started  looking into herself or getting better.'
 
Private investigator Danno Hanks revealed on Sunday the 37-year-old had asked him to work on a suicide awareness video with her.  It features a cover of 'I'll See You Yesterday' which was written by Courtney Dashe, a  fan of McCready's who wanted her to sing the song.  On Saturday, the day before Mindy was found dead, she sent Hanks a frame for a video  with a suicide hotline number.  He said: 'She said she wanted to put together  this video to help people deal when someone had suffered a suicide in their life and God.

The Story of Kyle

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home
all ...his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.”
 
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went
flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.” He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never
hung out with a private school kid before, but we talked all the way home, and I carried his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend, and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, “Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!” He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football
scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.

On graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech,
so I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach — but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.” I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his mom wouldn’t have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. “Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.”

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person’s life.

A friend shared the Daily Mail article about Jordan Green.  When a child as young as 12 takes their life, it immediately makes you question the circumstances.  So many questions with few answers.





A 12-year-old schoolboy who was excluded from school hanged himself just hours later, an inquest heard today.  
Jordan Green,12, had hurled chairs round a room, sworn at staff and threatened them.  At first he was excluded from school for one day and when his behavior worsened the ban was increased to five days before eventually the principal banned him permanently.  And when he told his mother Heidi of the ban he said: 'Have a nice life mum, I just feel like killing myself'.

Ms Green said she tried calling him later, adding: 'He wouldn’t answer his phone and I thought "he obviously doesn’t want to speak to me".'  The hairdresser said she returned to their home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, after 8pm and told the inquest: 'I assumed that he wasn’t home.  'I thought he was playing with his friends.'

Medics believe he had been dead several hours when his body was found on June 27 last year.

Today, an inquest in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, heard how Jordan, whose mother was separated from his father, Kevin, had been disruptive even when he was at primary school.  Jordan had become increasingly disruptive in lessons since his grandmother died and his parents separated, Mrs Green told the hearing.

When he went to Harrogate High School, his behavior became worse, causing him to be excluded from lessons on several occasions.  Vice principal Ann Francis said staff had had numerous meetings to decide how to help Jordan, who was academically adept but regularly disrupted classes and swore at teachers.  On occasions he would just start running round the 800-student school and hide from staff who were looking for him.  At one stage he was put in a special educational unit where his behavior improved.

But last June the decision was finally made to exclude him from the school for good.  That morning he had left his home upset after he refused to get out of bed and go to school.  When he did get there he was put in a 'chill room' to calm down before he returned to normal lessons.  Miss Francis said he was allowed to use the computers in the room and was kept there because he seemed sleepy.  

But just over an hour later Jordan left the room without permission and a call went out to a special staff response team to find him.  Miss Francis said: 'He was seen in different parts of the school but would not stop or listen to anyone.'  For around half an hour, she admitted staff did not know where Jordan was until he was seen in the cafeteria but when staff tried to talk to him he was abusive to them and ran away.  Eventually he was persuaded back into the chill room and staff tried to calm him down but he was 'quite difficult and agitated,' said Miss Francis.

It was then that the school principal Andrew Bayston decided to exclude Jordan for a day.  But when Jordan realized staff were trying to contact his parents he started shouting 'mum is getting ill' and began throwing things around, including a board game and a chair.  Miss Francis said: 'He was screaming and shouting abuse at staff who decided to leave him in the room to calm down.'  At one stage another class of pupils were moved out of an adjoining room because they could see what was happening.  And because of Jordan’s behavior the school principal increased the ban to five days.

When Ms Green was contacted she told the school she could not collect him because she was working - but gave permission for the school to let him return home.  But then Jordan's behavior deteriorated and two members of staff had to stand in front of a glass door as he tried to punch it and then threw himself at it.  At one stage he picked up a chair and held it above his head, threatening to hit a member of staff with it.  

In an attempt to diffuse the situation Miss Francis ordered doors to be opened so that Jordan could leave school after she talked to him and he calmed down.  Moments after leaving school, Jordan returned to pick up his scooter and minutes later returned again, asking for food and he was given some.  But after another meeting between staff the principal decided that Jordan should be excluded from the school permanently.

After that decision had been made, it would be up to the local authority to decide on Jordan’s future.  Miss Francis said that suggestions that Jordan, who lived with his mother, had been bullied were wrong and Jordan had never reported that he had been bullied.

The inquest continues.