UNBEARABLE SADNESS

11 June 2026

Susan is in Melbourne this week providing love and care to a friend whose daughter took her own life while we were overseas.

Izzie was a gloriously glamourous and smart young woman. Of indigenous heritage, she worked to support her community in a variety of legal aid organisations. But mental health challenges had lingered since teenage-hood and finally, the pain became too much for her.

I watched her funeral service online and just wished that she’d been able to see the outpouring of love from hundreds of people, white and black. Stories about her feistiness as work. Stories about her support of her half-siblings. Stories about being her mother’s pride and joy. Stories about extravagant shopping and fancy cocktails with friends. And we could have told stories about the delightful dinners and Christmas lunches we shared with her and her mother.

She’s left a hole in many lives but at the same time, we have to remember that she rewarded us for many years with her company.

Ann, Susan, Gemma, Izzie


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