Please Stay Alive.

I woke up to devastating news today and only if you know me well will you know why this hits so close to home; but at this time, I’d like to borrow words from Jamie Tworkowski, co-founder of To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit organization which aims to present hope for people struggling with addiction, depression, self injury, and thoughts of suicide while also investing directly into treatment and recovery:

2006 Oscars. Best Actor Nominees.

Two of these guys died way too soon. If you want to look further, Joaquin Phoenix lost his brother River to a drug overdose years before. These famous names represent millions less known, millions of stories cut short, families with so much forever missing. Children shouldn’t grow up without parents and parents shouldn’t have to bury their children.

This is what I’ve come to believe: There is much at stake. There are lives in the balance and ripples that push on for decades. Addiction is an awful beast to beat. It’s never easy and it’s never over and it will be a fight renewed each morning. But it’s possible – I think of my uncle and my buddy Denny and so many people I’ve met on the road over the last eight years. Their lives are undeniable evidence that it’s possible to change, that it’s worth it to try and to keep trying, worth it to fight and keep fighting.

Because this life is worth living. Because you are loved and made to be loved and made to give love and to experience a thousand wonderful things.

We’re all in this together.

It’s okay to be honest. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to say you’re stuck, or that you’re haunted or that you can’t begin to let go.

We can all relate to those things. Screw the stigma that says otherwise. Break the silence and break the cycle, because you are more than just your pain.

You Are Not Alone.

People Need Other People.

PLEASE STAY ALIVE.

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

1967 – 2014

Prayers, thoughts and love go out to his partner and three children.