Tricia reflects on how life rarely unfolds as expected, tracing the “threads” that shaped her—from a childhood marked by international moves and early awareness of injustice, to teaching and youth work, to a faith grounded less in institutions and more in values of honesty, inclusion, and walking alongside others. Her life pivots in 1996 when her husband, Michael—a grounded, artistic Baptist minister known for caring for people in crisis—dies by suicide at 38. Tricia describes the shock, the public scrutiny, and her immediate decision to meet suicide without shame. She reframes Michael’s death as an attempt to escape unbearable pain rather than selfishness, insisting on language and understanding that preserve dignity. Driven by love for her children and a need to “bring the monster down to size,” she learns everything she can about suicide, grie ...