What Exactly Happened?

Puerto Rico
Nico at 15-years-old on vacation in Puerto Rico. Good times.

The short and sad story is that my 21-year-old son, Nico, made a decision to end his life. He chose a  most beautiful and unusual location to do this; a natural sanctuary marked by a majestic tree.

It was no ordinary tree. It had an extensive tree house built into it.

Treehaven tree house
Treehouse

I wondered how my son knew of this place, off the hiking path in a state park. Did he help to build it? Did he know the people who did? These were just some of the questions I had when my son died. I felt compelled to understand more about this place as I struggled to accept my son’s death. So, I placed a small journal at the site. In it I asked questions and invited people to talk about whatever they wanted to.