So many famous people have been lost to suicide. And so have so many others who were not famous but who were just as important. Wink lies somewhere in between, I think. She wasn’t famous in the sense of a celebrity. But she was known, loved, and celebrated within the crochet community. And even though we might not have met her in person, we were devastated when she was lost to suicide.
Charissa’s Crochet Mandala
This sweet crochet contribution is made using the free Tuts+ crochet mandala tutorial by Wink. I love the colors selected for this piece, colors that give it an organic floral feeling filled with brightness and hope. When someone is lost to suicide, it is easy to focus on darkness, but that person (Wink especially) had a lot of light. Despite the darkness and sadness, we should never forget that light.
Meet the Maker: Charissa
This crochet mandala contribution comes to us from blogger, crafter and photographer Charissa of the Joyful Four blog, which is no longer an active blog. Charissa shared on her blog back then that this was made “In honor of an amazing talent the crochet world has lost….” and added in her mail, “Sadly, the crochet community lost an amazing talent. You will be missed Wink.” It’s true. She was missed and continues to be missed.
Words by Wink
I thought I’d share an excerpt from a post Wink did at the end of 2011, recapping her first year in blogging, because it highlights how happy the creative community here made her, even in the early days.
“This year has been a hoot and a half for me. I had/have SO much fun blogging, creating but most of all: sharing it with you! I never would have guessed that I would have such a loyal following by now. I only started blogging in May! Some stats: I have had about 13,000 people visiting me over the past few months. I have had around 100 visits each day, with high points of 579 visitors in one day! I received almost 200 comments on my blog, and November was my best month (so far) with almost 4,000 visits.”
The community helped her and gave her joy. And she gave it right back to each of us.
Famous People Lost to Suicide
Today I thought I’d share a (very partial) list of some of the amazing creative talents who lost the battle to depression and suicide. This isn’t to glorify or romanticize the illness but instead to recognize how widespread this condition is. Suicide and depression affect people of all ages, from all areas, of any class.
- Alexander McQueen
- Anne Sexton
- Anthony Bourdain
- Brad Delp
- Chris Cornell
- David Foster Wallace
- Diane Arbus
- Elliott Smith
- Ernest Hemingway
- Hunter Thompson
- Isabella Blow
- Jonathan Brandis
- Jonathan Brandis
- Kate Spade
- Kurt Cobain
- Mark Rothko
- Michael Blosil
- Mindy McCready
- Phil Ochs
- Robin Williams
- Sylvia Plath
- Virginia Woolf
Additionally, here is a lengthy list of famous people who attempted suicide but survived. Slightly more inspiringly, here is a list of 40+ celebrities who have lived with depression. Depression affects people far and wide, from all walks of life, for many different reasons. Whether they are famous or not, the world loses out when people are lost to suicide.
This post has been updated in 2019 from the original 2015 version. This is part of an effort to re-share all of the Mandalas for Marinke posts so that we can continue to raise awareness about depression and people lost to suicide. You can support this effort by purchasing the Mandalas for Marinke book.