'We wanted to be honest'. Sister shares story of brother who died by suicide
CBC
WARNING: The details of this story may be distressing for some readers
"Stories like Brian's should not be ignored," reads Brian Mitchell's obituary published earlier this month.
Mitchell, 35, died by suicide on Oct. 31.
"We wanted to be as honest about this as possible because Brian struggled for a long time," said Brian's older sister Erin. "There's probably so many other families and friends who have a loved one in a very similar situation."
"It almost feels as if Brian's death by suicide was inevitable," Erin added.
"This wasn't his first attempt."
In recent years, Brian, the father of two children, had struggled with a cocaine addiction and deteriorating mental health. He lost custody of his girls, Ava, 6, and Olivia, 3.
Erin had gotten used to worrying about her brother, who until his death worked at an LCBO warehouse. "There are so many sleepless nights, so many times that you're afraid and so many times that you call the police. And the only thing that you can do is take him down to the CMHA office, if he'll go with you."
Brian and Erin Mitchell, who were both adopted, grew up in a loving and supportive family. "I always wanted to be him," Erin recalled.
Her brother was charismatic and full of life, she said. "He's always sparkled and had enormous athletic talent. He was always the centre of the friend group. He was always making everybody laugh."
But that person began to slip away about two years ago. "We had been losing him for quite a while," Erin said.
"One of the hardest things about the past couple of years is watching that piece of him continue to fade away," she said.
Brian had been missing for a number of days when police knocked on the door of the family home earlier this month. Erin's mother had just stepped out for some fresh air and when one of the officers asked where she was, Erin knew her brother was gone.
"It's an out-of-body experience. Everything hurts. It's like your insides are twisting," she said.
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