Please be aware that this episode does discuss the topics of death and suicide.

Each of us has a story to tell, but for many people no reason compelling enough emerges for us to embark on the journey to sharing that story with others. 

But for some people, there comes a time where something happens and it ignites a burning desire to share their story, so that others can learn what we’ve discovered or  avoid the pain that we’ve encountered.

That is what happened to Don Ryan. 

He was a regular guy with a job as a therapist, and a family, who had lost some people he loved.

But when a third person he loved decided to die by suicide, Don knew, on all sorts of levels of his being, that he needed to share his story to help other people like him and contribute towards a big change.

That’s when he wrote a book called, ‘The Secret Struggle: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One’, where he pairs his personal experience of losing three members of his family with the professional insights gained across three decades of work in the social services field. 

After writing the book, Don knew he wanted to turn the book into a talk, both to share his message more widely, and as a means by which people could discover his book.

In this show we will talk about his journey and how he tackled creating an engaging and entertaining talk for this challenging topic. 

 

What you’ll discover:

• Don’s own experience of losing someone to suicide and how it has impacted his life. 
• Where his personal and professional experience intersect. 
• How Don approached sharing his story and the challenges he encountered. 
• How the current social conditioning around this topic affects the support that people get.
• Why the figures we have for numbers of suicides don’t reflect the real situation.
• The most important thing that Don believes needs to happen to start to turn the tide around this issue.
• The challenges Don faced in turning the book into a talk.
• How to make sure the audience gets relief when you are speaking about challenging topics.
  

 

All things Don:

www.thesecretstruggle.com

The Secret Struggle by Don Ryan on Amazon

Tik Tok: @the.secret.struggle

Instagram: don.ryan_the.secret.struggle

Facebook: The Secret Struggle: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One

 

Books & Resources*:

Trinity by Leon Uris 

Angla’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

 

Resources:

Grab Your From Blank Page to Stage Guide and Nail the Topic for a Client Winning Talk

Want to get better at finding and sharing your stories then check out our FREE Five Day Snackable Story Challenge

Thanks for listening!

 

To share your thoughts:                                                  

• Share this show on X, Facebook or LinkedIn.

To help the show out:

• Leave an honest review at https://www.ratethispodcast.com/tsc Your ratings and reviews really help get the word out and I read each one.

• Subscribe on iTunes.

*(please note if you use my link I get a small commission, but this does not affect your payment)