Today I signed up for my 9th Overnight Walk with AFSP. Last year was the first year I didn’t walk since I was introduced to AFSP. A family vacation was at the same time. Although our family vacation was amazing, I have to admit, I missed doing the walk. I missed being with others that now feel like family. I missed walking with others that understand, accept, and love in a way others can’t. I missed being with my AFSP family.
I walk this year for my 9th time, but this year is different. You see I walk this year again for my mom, but I also walk for our nephew, Carson. Carson was 16 when he died on October 18, 2023, and if I am honest, I don’t know how to process his death. There is no making sense of it, there is no way I can ever fully comfort his family, so I will do once again, the only thing I can do. I will walk.
I will once again walk through the night with so many others who are also carrying their loved ones each mile. I will walk with those with their own lived experiences searching for hope. I will walk because at a time when I feel completely helpless, it is the one thing I feel like I can do. I walk because my mom, Cecilia Bigbee, and Carson Hillman deserve to be remembered for the way in which they both lived, not their deaths. They deserve to be remembered as kind, considerate, and for their smile.
So if you are reading this I ask you do one of the following, or all of them.
Educate yourself on suicide risk factors and warning signs.
Have a conversation with someone if you are concerned.
Donate to the Overnight Walk to fund programs, research, and advocacy.
Amy Bigbee Grosso, PhD 
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