Amy Bleuel, the Founder and President of Project Semicolon, states the project’s mission statement is “a global non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love, and inspire. Stay strong; love endlessly; change lives.” The Vision for Project Semicolon is “That together we can achieve lower suicide rates in the U.S. and around the world; That together we can start a conversation about suicide, mental illness, and addiction that can’t be stopped; We envision love and hope and we declare that hope is alive; We envision a society that openly addresses the struggle with mental illness, suicide, and addiction; We envision a conversation embraced by churches and addressed with love; We envision a society that sees their value and embraces it; We envision a community that comes together and stands together in support of one another; We envision a world where an escape is not found within drugs or alcohol; We envision a world where self-destruction is no longer an escape to be used; We envision a revolution of LOVE and declare that our stories are not over yet.”

Of course, reading about the project and drawing semicolons won’t end mental struggles. But it will start the necessary dialogue for assistance. It will give hope via a social cause, allowing more empathy and resources to be widely available to help prevent the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of ten and thirty-four in the US (www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org ). As the world pursues efforts to raise awareness for mental illness within families and communities, those who deal with it typically feel less alone and desperate—it helps to make them more inclined to ask for help while feeling safe and unjudged.

No matter how we get there, the end result is what’s important: help and support for more people to also be able to say, “I’m still here.”

Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions

1. What first piqued your interest about the book? The title, the cover, or the synopsis? Why?

2. What was your initial expectation from the book? Did it rise to the occasion?

3. What did you like most about the book?

4. What did you like least about the book?

5. What are some of the overarching themes of the book that you believe were executed well?

6. Behind Her Lives toggles between present and past events, while interweaving diary entries. Do you like how the book is structured? Were you able to follow the story effortlessly?

7. Is there any particular instance in the book that really stands out?

8. To which character did you most relate and empathize? Why?

9. Were you able to “guess” the ending? Was it satisfying?

10. If you could be a part of the book, which character would you like to be?

11. What did you think of the twists in the story?