May 25, 2010

Michel Martin Returns to NPR's "Tell Me More" to Give Commentary on Brother's Suicide

Urban Radio Nation michel martin, NPR, tell me more

Tell Me More host Michel Martin spoke about her brother's recent suicide after a two week absence from the program. Her commentary, Maybe Someday Love Will Cure Despair begins: "I want to talk about something really hard for me. (The subject may not be appropriate for our younger listeners, so you can be ready to turn the dial if you see fit.)

And with that being said, I want you to hear the voice of a very good man — my brother, Norman McQueen Jr. I interviewed him for this program on the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11:

Norman McQueen: I have a whole different outlook on life. I'm a little hesitant to make long-range plans about anything. I think that, if there's something you want to do in your life, if there's a vacation that you want to take or some place you want to see, I think you should do it now and not wait for retirement or plan too far ahead. And that's the way I feel about life now.

Norman McQueen Jr., was a firefighter in New York City, in a privately funded unit called The Fire Patrol. He worked at Fire Patrol No. 2. His firehouse name was "Mac." His friends called him Wade.

My sister and I just called him Brother.

Here's the full audio and commentary

The Tell Me More blog asked Dr. Carl Bell, the president and CEO of the Community Mental Health Council and author of The Sanity of Survival, to continue the conversation by blogging about the impact of suicide in communities of color in the post Protecting Those At Risk of Suicide.

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