When the news broke on July 20, 2017, of the death by suicide of Chester Bennington, lead singer of the band Linkin Park, my immediate thought was “surely this is another hoax, like the bogus announcements over the internet of the deaths of Clint Eastwood and William H. Macy.” Sadly, it is true. Chester Bennington took his own life at the age of forty-one; this came as a horrible shock to his family, friends, bandmates and millions of adoring fans. He was in the prime of life, at the top of his game as a professional performer, between tours with his band in promoting their new album One More Light. It seemed he had everything to live for, yet he decided to end his life–this is, undoubtedly, hard for many to understand and who are left wondering why. I can only surmise that despite the fame and success he enjoyed in life, despair got him better, and he decided he could not go on living. Despair is part of being human and how human beings cope with it or not varies according to the individual. Continue reading →