Merry Christmas

Merry CHRISTmas to all my family friends and law enforcement friends. Wishing you all the very best. STAY SAFE!

Matt's Last Call: Surviving Our Protectors

When Julie Zielinski's fun-loving, Marine, Sheriff Deputy son commits suicide, her world comes crashing down.

Questions flood her mind: How could she have stopped this? What next? and mostly, why? As Julie grieves her son in Matt's Last Call: Surviving Our Protectors, she reflects on the life he lived and the memories she will hold onto forever.

For instance, the time his captain allowed him a leave from the Marine Corps in order to spend time with his ill grandfather in Hawaii. Or remembering what he looked like in his oversized baseball cap and uniform.

Her energetic son turned into a man who loved nothing more than his family and country. With memories from Matt's father, friends, and family, the memoir will surely pull at your heartstrings.

As Julie reflects on the death of her firstborn son, she informs parents and children of the dangers of suicide, the difficulty of coping, the pain of everyday life, and lastly the days that happiness returns, even if just a little bit.

You may purchase a copy of Matt's Last Call: Surviving Our Protectors from:

Julie's website, Amazon.com, Hastings Bookstore, in Wenatchee, WA., Encouraging Words, in Wenatchee, WA or contact me via email or facebook.

Purchase price is $13.99 + tax and shipping and handling depending on your location.

Matt's Last Call, would be a helpful read for anyone dealing with a crisis situation with a family member or friend, or just wants to be prepared for the unexpected.

May God Bless each and everyone of you this Christmas Season.

Concerns Of Police Survivors

My husband and I have just returned from our annual winter meeting of C.O.P.S. (Concerns Of Police Survivors). It is probably the best C.O.P.S. meeting I have ever attended. Every year since I became the Suicide Liaison more suicide survivors have attended. This year we had three new survivors join us. It is a very hard step to take but these new people were welcomed with open arms. They felt accepted and loved and all participated in the activities. Line Of Duty Deaths and Law Enforcement suicides are both horrible. Unfortunately, suicide deaths are looked upon as being both selfish and destructive. People do not understand what a law enforcement officer sees/ goes through on a daily basis. We think of law enforcement officers as tough and strong and devoid of feelings. Wrong. We all have feelings that need to be expressed. If no one is willing to help them they often see no way out. As I have said before, I am out to save lives. Another person who attended our meeting was John Marx, executive director of CopsAlive. I was honored November 2012 to do a podcast with John on the topic of surviving the suicide of my son who was a sheriff's deputy. We are both on the same page with saving lives and plan on working together in some fashion. Our President, Troy, welcomed the suicide survivors and mentioned how important it is to include everyone in C.O.P.S. I am the only Suicide Liaison for C.O.P.S. in the United States. That has to change. It is a problem we can no longer ignore.