Dear Cait,
I found your site while searching for a reason. Just six months ago a very close friend of mine began to starve herself. She hid it very well from her friends but her parents knew. They fought her every step of the way. Brought her to the Doctor who agreed that she was fine. Eventually she admitted to her family that they were right. She was anorexic. I was so honoured the day she chose to confide her problems to me. I had only known her six months. A short time after that she took a drug overdose and survived it. A while later she tried to jump of a cliff into the Atlantic Ocean, but something stopped her. Well, they say third time lucky and five weeks ago she succeeded at her third suicide attempt when she jumped into a river and drowned.

She was a beautiful young woman, both physically and spiritually. She was intelligent and excelled at everything she put her mind to. She had a wide wide circle of friends, all of whom cared deeply for her and were delighted to know such a kind, compassionate, loyal person. She was funny, the life and soul of every party. At the depth of despair, while locked in her inner turmoil, she still found the will and the energy to listen to and take an interest in other people's problems and often solve them, no matter how trivial.

Having visited your web site I can see how much pain and suffering must have been in her heart and soul. I know that nothing I could have done would have saved her. I was the best friend I could possibly have been to her and she acknowledged it in her final letter. She also apologised for not being able to return the favour!! I wish I could tell her she did, a thousand
times over. But I can't. So I will tell every person out there who is punishing themselves for being things that they're not, please stop. Love yourself as those around you do. My friend believed she was doing us a favour by removing herself from this earth, that we all would be better off without her. In truth, each day I wish I had died instead of her, or that I could have gone with her. She caused so much hurt by leaving us all, and I know she is sorry, but happy where she is in Heaven.

It is too late for her to come back and carry put all the plans we had made together. Please through this letter let me save just one life, get rid of one person's suffering, do for one other what couldn't do for her. She died one month short of 20.
I will always love her and miss her wherever I am.
I will carry out all our plans as my tribute to her memory, as proof of my
love and loyalty.

Please don't leave this world.
Please don't punish yourself.
You are all beautiful, unique, special people, born to bring joy, love and happiness into the lives of others for many years, not to punish yourselves for being born.
Please fulfill your destiny. For me, for my friend who is now an angel, but mostly for yourselves.

Please Cait put my email on the site so anyone who wants to contact me can.
It is treasa73@hotmail.com

Thank you so much Cait for setting up this outlet for people who want to get better. The second half of your letter was so true, I hope you know it.

Yours faithfully,
Treasa.