MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Time now for "My Unsung Hero," our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. "My Unsung Hero" tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from a listener named Jay. He asked us to use his nickname to allow him to speak candidly about a time when he struggled with thoughts of suicide. When Jay was in college, he made a string of decisions that landed him in a detention center, awaiting trial for breaking into a building on his campus. He was detained early one morning around 1 a.m. Within an hour of sitting alone in his cell, the reality of his situation began to sink in.
JAY: My cell was kind of the last one on the hall. There was nobody across from me. There was nobody to my right. There was just one person off to my left. And I pretty much thought that my life as I knew it was going to be over, and I had decided that the world would be better off without me in it. And I had made a plan to end my life. I was sobbing, emotional, but resolute. But just in that moment when I was ready to do it, I heard a voice coming from the top left corner of my cell from a little vent. Someone called out to me and said, hey, is this your first time? I collected myself a little bit, and I said, yeah. And he said, can I pray for you? I had been raised Christian, but I had long since abandoned my faith. But I said, sure, why not?
And I wish I could tell you that I remember the words exactly that he said to me. But what I remember is that his words landed with me. And instead of wanting my life to be over, suddenly, I saw hope. I saw a future that included me. And now many years on, I have a good job. I have a girlfriend that loves me. I have a life, but I have a life because somebody who was in the same situation I was in had the courage to talk to a fellow inmate and be kind. So if I had just one hope, it would be to be able to shake that guy's hand, give him a hug, and tell him what his small gesture meant for me, how he changed the course of my life.
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KELLY: Jay says he hopes his story might inspire incarcerated people, as well as those living with mental health challenges. If you are someone you love is struggling with thoughts of suicide, there are people who can help. You can reach a counselor 24/7 by calling or texting 988. And you can find more stories of unsung heroes and learn how to submit your own at hiddenbrain.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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