Caroline Roodhouse
@daddyblackbird.bsky.social
Widow | Best-Selling Author | Speaker on loss by suicide | Communicator | Mentor | Mum | Mental Health | UK
Read: https://daddyblackbird.com/book/ 💛
Read: https://daddyblackbird.com/book/ 💛
Pinned
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.” | Emily Dickinson
Your tribe is the anchor when storms arise and the wind beneath your wings when you soar.
When you need to feel hope, look for it in the people around you 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Compassion #Hope
When you need to feel hope, look for it in the people around you 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Compassion #Hope
November 18, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Your tribe is the anchor when storms arise and the wind beneath your wings when you soar.
When you need to feel hope, look for it in the people around you 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Compassion #Hope
When you need to feel hope, look for it in the people around you 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideLoss #Kindness #Compassion #Hope
❌MYTH: It only happens to certain people.
✔️FACT: #Suicide doesn’t belong to one gender, culture, age, or group. Although we know it’s more common among men, it can affect anyone.
We all have a role to play in noticing, listening, and supporting 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #ChangeTheNarrative
✔️FACT: #Suicide doesn’t belong to one gender, culture, age, or group. Although we know it’s more common among men, it can affect anyone.
We all have a role to play in noticing, listening, and supporting 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #ChangeTheNarrative
November 17, 2025 at 2:42 PM
❌MYTH: It only happens to certain people.
✔️FACT: #Suicide doesn’t belong to one gender, culture, age, or group. Although we know it’s more common among men, it can affect anyone.
We all have a role to play in noticing, listening, and supporting 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #ChangeTheNarrative
✔️FACT: #Suicide doesn’t belong to one gender, culture, age, or group. Although we know it’s more common among men, it can affect anyone.
We all have a role to play in noticing, listening, and supporting 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #ChangeTheNarrative
The Greek word for trauma literally means “to pierce one’s armour.”
It breaks through our emotional protection leaving us exposed.
It explains why grief can feel raw and overwhelming.
If you’re grieving, recognise the pain - go slowly and go gently.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #SuicideLoss
It breaks through our emotional protection leaving us exposed.
It explains why grief can feel raw and overwhelming.
If you’re grieving, recognise the pain - go slowly and go gently.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #SuicideLoss
November 16, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The Greek word for trauma literally means “to pierce one’s armour.”
It breaks through our emotional protection leaving us exposed.
It explains why grief can feel raw and overwhelming.
If you’re grieving, recognise the pain - go slowly and go gently.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #SuicideLoss
It breaks through our emotional protection leaving us exposed.
It explains why grief can feel raw and overwhelming.
If you’re grieving, recognise the pain - go slowly and go gently.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #SuicideLoss
The school run should be a safe place.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a moment of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30: Suicide is not the subject for a school run ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a moment of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30: Suicide is not the subject for a school run ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
Suicide is not the subject for a school run
Daddy Blackbird #30
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The school run should be a safe place.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a moment of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30: Suicide is not the subject for a school run ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a moment of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30: Suicide is not the subject for a school run ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
❌ MYTH: You should be ‘over it’ by now.
✔️ FACT: There’s no deadline for grief. We don’t move on, we move forward, carrying what we lost.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief
✔️ FACT: There’s no deadline for grief. We don’t move on, we move forward, carrying what we lost.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief
November 16, 2025 at 8:42 AM
❌ MYTH: You should be ‘over it’ by now.
✔️ FACT: There’s no deadline for grief. We don’t move on, we move forward, carrying what we lost.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief
✔️ FACT: There’s no deadline for grief. We don’t move on, we move forward, carrying what we lost.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief
Some places are meant to be ordinary.
The school run should be one of them.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a place of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30 ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Postvention #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
The school run should be one of them.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a place of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30 ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Postvention #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
Suicide is not the subject for a school run
Daddy Blackbird #30
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Some places are meant to be ordinary.
The school run should be one of them.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a place of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30 ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Postvention #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
The school run should be one of them.
But after Steve’s suicide, it became a place of impossible questions, hidden grief, and invisible burdens.
Read about it in article #30 ❤️🩹
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Postvention #Care #Compassion #MentalHealth 🐦⬛
❌ MYTH: Only close friends and family are affected by a suicide.
✔️ FACT: One single suicide touches on average 135 people - from friends to colleagues to strangers who saw themselves in the story.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #Postvention #GriefHasNoRules
✔️ FACT: One single suicide touches on average 135 people - from friends to colleagues to strangers who saw themselves in the story.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #Postvention #GriefHasNoRules
November 15, 2025 at 9:41 AM
❌ MYTH: Only close friends and family are affected by a suicide.
✔️ FACT: One single suicide touches on average 135 people - from friends to colleagues to strangers who saw themselves in the story.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #Postvention #GriefHasNoRules
✔️ FACT: One single suicide touches on average 135 people - from friends to colleagues to strangers who saw themselves in the story.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #SuicideAwareness #Postvention #GriefHasNoRules
Whether it’s a friend, family member, colleague or complete stranger, please check in on someone today.
It matters more than you know ❤️🩹🐦⬛
Take care of yourself and each other.
Caroline
💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #Postvention #Hope
It matters more than you know ❤️🩹🐦⬛
Take care of yourself and each other.
Caroline
💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #Postvention #Hope
November 12, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Whether it’s a friend, family member, colleague or complete stranger, please check in on someone today.
It matters more than you know ❤️🩹🐦⬛
Take care of yourself and each other.
Caroline
💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #Postvention #Hope
It matters more than you know ❤️🩹🐦⬛
Take care of yourself and each other.
Caroline
💛💛💛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #Postvention #Hope
Loss by suicide is trauma like no other.
“Amor Fati” is about facing the unbearable, not accepting the act that caused the pain, but choosing to live fully with what remains.
Resilience isn’t quiet; it’s a fierce willingness to keep going 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #AmorFati 🐦⬛
“Amor Fati” is about facing the unbearable, not accepting the act that caused the pain, but choosing to live fully with what remains.
Resilience isn’t quiet; it’s a fierce willingness to keep going 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #AmorFati 🐦⬛
November 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Loss by suicide is trauma like no other.
“Amor Fati” is about facing the unbearable, not accepting the act that caused the pain, but choosing to live fully with what remains.
Resilience isn’t quiet; it’s a fierce willingness to keep going 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #AmorFati 🐦⬛
“Amor Fati” is about facing the unbearable, not accepting the act that caused the pain, but choosing to live fully with what remains.
Resilience isn’t quiet; it’s a fierce willingness to keep going 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #AmorFati 🐦⬛
When Steve died by suicide, I wasn’t just a widow grieving my husband, I was suddenly parenting double.
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups..
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups..
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double parenting dilemmas
Daddy Blackbird #29
daddyblackbird.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:23 PM
When Steve died by suicide, I wasn’t just a widow grieving my husband, I was suddenly parenting double.
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups..
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups..
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Simon Sinek’s “get in the mud” idea is simple but powerful: real empathy means being present with someone in their struggles, not trying to fix them.
Sitting in the hard, messy moments together can be more healing than any advice.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Support #Kindness 🐦⬛
Sitting in the hard, messy moments together can be more healing than any advice.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Support #Kindness 🐦⬛
November 9, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Simon Sinek’s “get in the mud” idea is simple but powerful: real empathy means being present with someone in their struggles, not trying to fix them.
Sitting in the hard, messy moments together can be more healing than any advice.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Support #Kindness 🐦⬛
Sitting in the hard, messy moments together can be more healing than any advice.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss #Grief #Support #Kindness 🐦⬛
When Steve died by suicide, I wasn’t just a widow grieving my husband, I was suddenly parenting double.
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups...
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups...
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double parenting dilemmas
Daddy Blackbird #29
daddyblackbird.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:03 AM
When Steve died by suicide, I wasn’t just a widow grieving my husband, I was suddenly parenting double.
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups...
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
Double the emotions 🤯
Double the logistics 🤯
Double the decisions 🤯
And no one to share the load, or the fear, or the responsibility, or the 4:30am wake-ups...
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
November 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
November 6, 2025 at 8:15 AM
November 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
“When we share our stories, it opens up our hearts for other people to share their stories. And it gives us the sense that we are not alone on this journey.” Janine Shepherd 📚❤️📣
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #ShareYourStory #BookSky #Help #Hope 💛🐦⬛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #ShareYourStory #BookSky #Help #Hope 💛🐦⬛
November 2, 2025 at 4:37 PM
“When we share our stories, it opens up our hearts for other people to share their stories. And it gives us the sense that we are not alone on this journey.” Janine Shepherd 📚❤️📣
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #ShareYourStory #BookSky #Help #Hope 💛🐦⬛
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicidePrevention #ShareYourStory #BookSky #Help #Hope 💛🐦⬛
Symbols are not magic, but they are meaning - and sometimes, meaning is enough to help us keep moving.
After Steve’s suicide, the blackbird became a symbol for me and my children. It carried meaning, and that meaning led to hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Meaning #Loss #Hope #SuicidePrevention
After Steve’s suicide, the blackbird became a symbol for me and my children. It carried meaning, and that meaning led to hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Meaning #Loss #Hope #SuicidePrevention
November 2, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Symbols are not magic, but they are meaning - and sometimes, meaning is enough to help us keep moving.
After Steve’s suicide, the blackbird became a symbol for me and my children. It carried meaning, and that meaning led to hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Meaning #Loss #Hope #SuicidePrevention
After Steve’s suicide, the blackbird became a symbol for me and my children. It carried meaning, and that meaning led to hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Meaning #Loss #Hope #SuicidePrevention
Suicide grief can be very different because it often involves intense feelings of guilt, shame, and unanswered questions.
It can also carry stigma, making it difficult to find the right support.
Survivors must learn to live in this harsh landscape.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #ComplexGrief
It can also carry stigma, making it difficult to find the right support.
Survivors must learn to live in this harsh landscape.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #ComplexGrief
November 1, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Suicide grief can be very different because it often involves intense feelings of guilt, shame, and unanswered questions.
It can also carry stigma, making it difficult to find the right support.
Survivors must learn to live in this harsh landscape.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #ComplexGrief
It can also carry stigma, making it difficult to find the right support.
Survivors must learn to live in this harsh landscape.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief #ComplexGrief
Halloween can be a welcome distraction 🎃
Christmas brings warmth and ritual 🎄
But Father’s Day? Just survival 💔
My latest #DaddyBlackbird piece explores the ache, the marketing cruelties, and the questions no parent should face.
🖤 Father’s Day Can F!&k Off
#Grief #SuicideLoss #SuicidePostvention
Christmas brings warmth and ritual 🎄
But Father’s Day? Just survival 💔
My latest #DaddyBlackbird piece explores the ache, the marketing cruelties, and the questions no parent should face.
🖤 Father’s Day Can F!&k Off
#Grief #SuicideLoss #SuicidePostvention
Father’s Day Can F!@k Off
Daddy Blackbird #28
shorturl.at
November 1, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Halloween can be a welcome distraction 🎃
Christmas brings warmth and ritual 🎄
But Father’s Day? Just survival 💔
My latest #DaddyBlackbird piece explores the ache, the marketing cruelties, and the questions no parent should face.
🖤 Father’s Day Can F!&k Off
#Grief #SuicideLoss #SuicidePostvention
Christmas brings warmth and ritual 🎄
But Father’s Day? Just survival 💔
My latest #DaddyBlackbird piece explores the ache, the marketing cruelties, and the questions no parent should face.
🖤 Father’s Day Can F!&k Off
#Grief #SuicideLoss #SuicidePostvention
“Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” | Tahereh Mafi
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Hope 💛
October 26, 2025 at 6:20 PM
“Hope. It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it’s the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” | Tahereh Mafi
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Hope 💛
#DaddyBlackbird #BookSky #Hope 💛
This week’s #DaddyBlackbird article is about the fragile quiet after the storm has passed: escaping the chaotic, controlling relationship and returning to the raw grief of #suicideloss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away...
#MentalHealth #Grief
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away...
#MentalHealth #Grief
Drawing a line in the sand
Daddy Blackbird #27
shorturl.at
October 26, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This week’s #DaddyBlackbird article is about the fragile quiet after the storm has passed: escaping the chaotic, controlling relationship and returning to the raw grief of #suicideloss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away...
#MentalHealth #Grief
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away...
#MentalHealth #Grief
Five things Steve would love this week:
🎃 Pumpkin carving with the girls
👻 Trick or treating
🌤 Blue skies and winter sun
🚴 Crunching over leaves on his mountain bike
🧣 Putting on a scarf & leaving it there til March
Reminders of another season without him 💔
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
🎃 Pumpkin carving with the girls
👻 Trick or treating
🌤 Blue skies and winter sun
🚴 Crunching over leaves on his mountain bike
🧣 Putting on a scarf & leaving it there til March
Reminders of another season without him 💔
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
October 26, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Five things Steve would love this week:
🎃 Pumpkin carving with the girls
👻 Trick or treating
🌤 Blue skies and winter sun
🚴 Crunching over leaves on his mountain bike
🧣 Putting on a scarf & leaving it there til March
Reminders of another season without him 💔
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
🎃 Pumpkin carving with the girls
👻 Trick or treating
🌤 Blue skies and winter sun
🚴 Crunching over leaves on his mountain bike
🧣 Putting on a scarf & leaving it there til March
Reminders of another season without him 💔
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideLoss
MYTH: “If I ask them about suicide, it might put the idea in their head.”
FACT: There’s no evidence that asking someone if they’re thinking about suicide makes them more likely to act on it. In fact, it can reduce distress and help someone feel less alone.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
FACT: There’s no evidence that asking someone if they’re thinking about suicide makes them more likely to act on it. In fact, it can reduce distress and help someone feel less alone.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
October 25, 2025 at 8:01 AM
MYTH: “If I ask them about suicide, it might put the idea in their head.”
FACT: There’s no evidence that asking someone if they’re thinking about suicide makes them more likely to act on it. In fact, it can reduce distress and help someone feel less alone.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
FACT: There’s no evidence that asking someone if they’re thinking about suicide makes them more likely to act on it. In fact, it can reduce distress and help someone feel less alone.
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness
After a storm comes that fragile quiet — unsettling but welcome.
This week’s piece is about that space: escaping chaos, leaving control behind, and facing the raw grief of suicide loss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief
This week’s piece is about that space: escaping chaos, leaving control behind, and facing the raw grief of suicide loss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief
Drawing a line in the sand
Daddy Blackbird #27
shorturl.at
October 25, 2025 at 7:08 AM
After a storm comes that fragile quiet — unsettling but welcome.
This week’s piece is about that space: escaping chaos, leaving control behind, and facing the raw grief of suicide loss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief
This week’s piece is about that space: escaping chaos, leaving control behind, and facing the raw grief of suicide loss.
Starting again is hard; it’s about choosing what to carry, and what to let wash away.
#DaddyBlackbird #Grief
It’s ok if today didn’t go quite the way you planned it 💛
The sun rises and we try again ☀️
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Hope
The sun rises and we try again ☀️
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Hope
October 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
It’s ok if today didn’t go quite the way you planned it 💛
The sun rises and we try again ☀️
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Hope
The sun rises and we try again ☀️
#DaddyBlackbird #SuicideAwareness #MentalHealth #Hope