"In 1977, when Eric Schwartz was 15 years old, his mother took her own life. The loss was unexpected and devastating. A few days later, Schwartz, his father and his brother took a trip from their small hometown in New York to Florida. "My dad thought it was the right place to go to get away from any reminder of my mom or anybody that we knew in town, just to kind of regroup and recover and figure out what was next," Schwartz recalled."
"When they returned, Schwartz had to go back to school, but he didn't want to. "It was awkward. Everybody knew in town what had happened. And I think it's awkward, too, for teachers when they encounter a student who had lost a parent, but it was especially awkward, I think, in my case because of the way my mother had died." Schwartz didn't want to discuss his mother's death and was grateful that his first day back, most of his teachers didn't mention the loss."
In 1977, a 15-year-old named Eric Schwartz lost his mother to suicide, leaving his family devastated. The family traveled to Florida to escape reminders and try to regroup. Upon returning, the teen faced an awkward return to school where everyone knew what had happened, and most teachers did not mention the loss. During choir class, the beloved teacher Renato Vellutino (Dr. V) rose from behind the piano as the student passed and pulled him into a wordless bear hug. The silent embrace conveyed care and understanding; no words were needed for the student to feel seen and supported.
Read at www.npr.org
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