Mike & Beth.
Mike
I could not possibly love Beth more and not to have her physically in my life is beyond devastating. Never to hear her say ‘Love you Dad’ again is beyond comprehension. That terrible word ‘suicide’ and Beth never belong in the same sentence. It is always something that happens to someone else, but not this time, it happened to my family and me.
I am a firefighter living in South Manchester where Beth spent her whole life as a part of a busy community.
In honesty I feel a lot of anger towards my youngest daughter. Why did she not let us know how she was feeling? Surrounded by so many people, parents, extended family and friends who all loved her dearly. Help was always at hand, but Beth did not know how to reach out or even that she needed to. The truth is she did not mean to hurt anyone and the sad fact is that as parents we sometimes become those who do not ‘understand.’ We never got the chance to catch Beth as she fell.
“We never got the chance to catch Beth as she fell.”
I believe Beth’s decision was impulsive and a reaction to having her life changed by Covid and the lockdown. She hated the fact that she could not finish college with her friends and saw all her plans being cancelled one by one. She had so many questions and yet we had no answers. Not one single person in Beth’s life saw this coming. Had she known about PAPYRUS and HOPELINEUK then maybe she would still be living her life.
3 Dads Walking is not a club I want to belong to, but along with Andy and Tim it gives us, as fathers, an opportunity to fight back and maybe make a difference. We are all too aware that there are more young people out there falling into despair and see no way out other than to end their own precious lives. We hope linking our homes, telling Beth, Emily and Sophie’s very different stories will raise awareness and put a spotlight on young mental health and ultimately the brutal effects of suicide.
“At high school Beth showed a fierce independence often championing the underdog and refusing to follow the in crowd”
Beth
Beth was such a happy loving child, always surrounded by friends and family she was incredibly popular with her wit and zest for life. Her passing has had a huge effect on so many lives. Daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend. She is so deeply missed by so very many people.
Beth was the youngest and smallest in her year at primary school, because of her July birthday, and yet she was always the centre of attention loving school life and eventually becoming head girl.
At high school Beth showed a fierce independence often championing the underdog and refusing to follow the in crowd just because it was cool. After her passing we received a message from someone in her school year group. They told us how Beth had approached them in a drama class one day when they had no partner to work with – she not only performed a piece with them but, they went on to say, encouraged them to see how good they really were and for the rest of the year kept supporting and encouraging them.
Her words “Beth will never know how much it meant to me and thanks to her I got a good grade in my drama because she made me believe in myself”.
During her time at high school Beth’s creative nature really began to shine with her producing some amazing artwork, but her real passions were singing and dancing. She brought the house down in the title role of Annie in the school play.
“Having just signed to a record label, Beth’s song ‘Pixel Screens’ went to the top of the charts soon after her death and is a reminder of her huge potential.”
Outside school Beth was part of the ‘showteam’ at Cadmans the local dance school. This gave her the opportunity to perform at various theatres throughout the country. Dance also enabled Beth to add to her vast friendship group, indeed Beth had an innate ability to befriend people and make them feel special. She loved life, a party, family and her friends.
Age just 17 when she took her own life. Beth had the World at her feet. She was a performer, a singer and dancer on stage and always a comedian off it. Training to become a vocal artist at college she performed at local venues silencing noisy drinkers with her beautiful and unique voice. Having just signed to a record label Beth’s song ‘Pixel Screens’ (available on all major streaming platforms) went to the top of the charts soon after her death and is a reminder of her huge potential. Due to Covid restrictions we were only allowed ten family members at her funeral, but the streets of our small town were lined with hundreds of people all clapping her. As one friend said, “We clapped Beth all the way to heaven”.
Always so proud of my little girl I will never be able to understand how so much hope can crumble into despair. Beth is missed by so many, every minute of every day.
Love you Betho xx
