Dese'Rae L. Stage is a suicide attempt survivor. She's open about that, and about her struggle with mental illness. She's a Philadelphia-based writer, speaker and photographer. An exhibit of her collected photography and oral history called "Live Through This" is on display at the Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield campus now thru October 19th.
Stage travels the country sharing her story. She has also collected over 100 stories from those who have also survived suicide attempts. Stage has a website with the same name and works as her current exhibit. For more information on the exhibit at UIS, click here. In this interview Stage tells us about her life and thoughts on the suicide prevention field, including a change in the way it's spoken about:
