We need better laws and improved mental health services.
A Liar, a Murderer and Events that Give Us Pause
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Sometimes events in your life give you pause. Last week marked two such events for me. One was from the past and the other was current.
First, the past.
I was hired in 1980 by legendary journalist Bob Woodward at The Washington Post to work on what was unofficially called “The Holy SH*T” squad. We were a young, eager team of reporters who were supposed to write stories that made our readers exclaim “HOLY SH*T” when they picked up their morning newspaper.
It was a great time to work at The Post because the newsroom was run by Ben Bradlee, one of the finest editors in history and a wonderful boss. I also made two life long friends while assigned to the squad: Mike Sager and Walt Harrington. Walt had an influential career at the Post before leaving to write several critically acclaimed books and become a professor and dean at the University of Illinois. Mike works today as one of the nation’s top magazine reporters on staff at ESQUIRE and also has authored several highly reviewed books. Both are skilled writers.
Mike and I were reporters on the squad, Walt was an editor, but the most infamous reporter was Janet Cooke, a beautiful, talented and determined writer who wanted desperately to get promoted to either the national or foreign staffs, which were considered the ultimate jobs at the paper. Some of you might remember what happened next.
Russ Lemmon: Hero For Victims’ Families
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(Click on picture above to see video)
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers columnist Russ Lemmon wasn’t looking for a crusade to lead two years ago when he happened upon a memorial notice in the newspaper placed by a grieving mother named Jeanne Elliott.
But when he telephoned her to ask about the tribute in honor of her deceased daughter, the veteran writer not only found a compelling story, but also a cause to champion.
Carl Elliott Jr., and Jeanne Elliott told Lemmon that their 17 year old daughter, Lynn, had been abducted, raped and murdered by Florida Serial Killer David Gore. She was one of his six victims, all of whom suffered horrible deaths. Only one brave girl, who was only 14 years old at the time, survived after he abducted her.
Lemmon began tracking down other family members. He listened to their stories and, more importantly, he began writing a series of columns about them. He became especially close to the Elliotts.
Gore had been sentenced to death nearly thirty years ago, but no one seemed to care.
Why? Lemmon asked.
Mike Wallace Helped Me When I Most Needed It!
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Mike Wallace and I didn’t start off as friends.
The great CBS newsman, who died Saturday at age 93, telephoned me when I was writing my first book, Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Jr. Spy Ring. It was 1986 and Wallace had learned that I was the only reporter who had gotten John Walker Jr. to talk to me.
At the time, Walker hated the media and didn’t want to talk to anyone about the 18 years that he had spent spying for the Soviets or how he had recruited his son, Michael; his brother, Arthur; and his best friend, Jerry Whitworth, as traitors.
For those of you who haven’t read my book or might not remember the case, John Walker Jr.’s arrest in 1985 was the biggest spy scandal in the U.S. history since Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and executed in 1953.
Walker’s treachery stunned the nation and Mike Wallace was eager to get the first television interview with him.
Saving Others By Sharing Our Stories
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Buzz and Elaine Blackett’s son, David, ended his own life on February 27, 2011, when he was a student at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Buzz spoke about his son’s suicide in an emotional tribute during a reception held last week on the campus before I gave a lecture later that night.
Buzz recalled how David had been diagnosed with a mental illness in his teens, how he had kept it secret from his classmates, and how he had desperately wanted to be “normal.” While in college, David decided to stop taking his medication and soon spiraled into a depression that proved fatal.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students and the main trigger is untreated depression.
WARNING: All Pills Are Not Created Equal
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“Our son was taking his medicine when, all of the sudden, he started showing signs that he was slipping and becoming ill again. My first thought was: ‘He’s stopped taking his medication.’ That’s what his psychiatrist thought too. But it was something else entirely.”
This email from a concerned mother is one of several that I’ve received about a problem that may impact individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder and take anti-psychotic medication.
