The Butterfly on my Shoulder

About the Book

The Butterfly On My Shoulder is an inspiring book composed of poems and commentary about the grief process.  Its purpose is to share the love, pain  and growth that so many have lived through and to inspire healing by all who grieve. This book lets mourners know that they are not alone and they are not going crazy, they are  grieving and they can heal.  It was written over a 22 year period by a mother after the death of her 24 year old son by suicide in 1986.  Many of the poems have been previously published in newsletters, brochures and on the internet.   They have proven to  be very encouraging to those who grieve by helping them to deal with and understand their grieving journey.   The book  offers a clear  explanation of the grief journey and grief process  as experienced from the perspective of all family  members, friends and fellow grievers in fourteen chapters. The chapters are divided by the stages and the friend or family member’s perspective.

The poems and commentary offer suggestions and information about helpful methods and modalities that a grieving person can use to better negotiate the different stages of grief.   The author uses her experiences and education as the Executive Director/CEO of the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention, Inc. and a member of the Florida State Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council to explain and share the experiences of thousands of grieving individuals which she has come in contact with over the last 22 years.  The commentary and poems express the perspective of both the author and survivors with which she has worked and describes their pain and ultimate healing.  This book is a useful tool for anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one including those dealing with a death by suicide.

About the Author

Helene Levin  has been the Executive Director/CEO of the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention Inc., FISP, since 2005.   She previously served as the Assistant Executive Director, a Board Member, Ways and Means V.P. and in many other volunteer positions.  FISP is a non-profit   organization  dedicated to providing survivor support, educational programs, researching and delivery of suicide prevention programming for all age groups.   In her capacity as the FISP Executive Director/CEO she also serves as a member of the Florida State Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council.

Helene became devoted to this mission in 1986 after her son Mitchell died by suicide at the age of twenty-four.  As an activist survivor, she spent the last twenty two years educating her self through hundreds of hours of classes, research, conferences and conventions with the goal of helping other survivors and educating so many others about suicide prevention.

Since 1986 Helene has helped hundreds of survivors of suicide and has presented educational programs to thousands of people in a wide variety of groups including:  physicians, therapist, teens, seniors, mental health organizations, providers of services organizations staffs’, police and EMS crisis intervention classes, disabled support organizations, Guardian organizations, churches, middle and high schools students, teachers, school counselors, and college students.

Helene has always been very creative with two of her own businesses as both a board certified interior designer and a fashion designer. After the death of her son she added a new method of expressing herself creatively in the form of poetry.  She found that she acquired great insight and relief by writing. Writing allowed her to help others by sharing her grief journey while giving her a way to track her own progress in her effort to heal so she could go on with her work in suicide prevention.