Earlier this month, there was a lot of discussion about the tragic suicide of 23-year-old Zal Chapgar, and how the media covers suicide and related issues of mental illness. The Inquirer's Melissa Dribben, who did the initial story about Chapgar's leap from the Loew's Hotel and the aftermath, is back with the rest of the story:
Then he headed toward the wall of windows looking east over the city, opened his backpack and took out a hammer.
For months he'd been straddling two worlds, separate realities. In one, he hung out with friends and his family and talked about science, philosophy and football.
In the other, seductive voices helped him visit another dimension. He'd always been spiritual, but he'd moved beyond mere faith in God. They were speaking directly to each other now.
He had tried so hard to keep the two realms apart. Maybe he didn't need to anymore.
It's a long story but a good read -- as an aside, the kind of thing newspapers used to do more of when there were more people with more time.