Today in Horrible News: Park Slope Couple Commit Suicide

 

[LYNROS7/VIA YOUTUBE]

Here's some really shitty news to ruin your Wednesday, via The New York Daily News. Park Slope couple Lynne Rosen and John Littig were found dead in their apartment on Monday after putting plastic bags over their heads and inhaling helium in an apparent joint-suicide. They lived in their 10-unit brownstone for two decades, and neighbors suspect they might have been dead a week before they were found. 

Perhaps ironically, Rosen, 46, was a psychoterapist. Littig, 48, a motivational speaker. The two co-hosted a radio show on WBAI 99.5 fm called "The Pursuit oh Happiness," where they often preached about making choices in life to be happy.

(Clips are available on their YouTube page, along with a "Chic C'est La Vie"-like video for a song Rosen recorded called "The Person You've Always Wanted to Be.")

Suicide is a really selfish, cowardly thing. It leaves behind a bunch of people who love the shit out of you and will spend the rest of their lives mourning your death, wondering what they could have done to help. No matter how alone you might feel in your life, there's always someone out there who cares enough about you to talk to you and help you through your hard time. 

While we may never know the real reasons Rosen and Littig decided to take their lives, the one thing we do know is that somewhere along the way, they decided to not make the choice to be happy. And dammit, that fucking sucks. Prayers go out to all their family and friends at this really really shitty time. 

Note from the author: An early version of this post included a few paragraphs that have since been removed. In them, I explained how I was personally going through a tough time recently, and felt how I wanted to escape things, but realized that life was worth living and that I could choose to be happy.

In writing that, I wasn't trying to spin an article about this tragic event into my own personal sob story. I also wasn't looking for any sort of medal of bravery. Nor was I trying to say my smaller problems were as grave as theirs (whatever those may be). As a writer, I try and relate stories to everyday experiences that others might be able to relate to. I recognize in this situation, it was a poor choice, and I apologize that my words came off in any way other than how I intended them.

As for calling suicide cowardly and selfish, I stand by that option, though I do understand how it's a controversial one. I've personally known many people who have committed suicide before, and dammit it fucking sucks for those in their lives. I apologize if this opinion is unpopular, but I just don't condone killing yourself as a solution to your problems - no matter how drastic they are. I hope Rosen and Littig are at peace now, and that whatever pain they are going through is over. But I feel terribly for the people left behind.