Stars help unveil mental health plan
Actor Ashley Judd and singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc, who both lost loved ones to suicide, helped the Biden administration promote its new national strategy to prevent suicide Tuesday.
Judd’s mother, country star Naomi Judd, died nearly two years ago. Blacc’s frequent collaborator, Tim Bergling, died in 2018.
Both were on hand as second gentleman Doug Emhoff helped unveil the administration’s blueprint for reducing suicides in the United States.
“We’re here today because we know that we can and will change this,” Emhoff said. “Suicide is preventable.”
Judd’s mother lived most of her 76 years with an untreated illness and, on the day she died, “the disease of mental illness was lying to her,” Ashley Judd said during a discussion moderated by Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy with Blacc and Shelby Rowe, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Research Center.
“She deserved better,” Judd said, adding that she herself also has suffered from depression and has had a different outcome because of treatment.
“I carry a message of hope,” she said.
Asked what people can do to help someone in crisis, Rowe said people shouldn’t worry about
“if you’re saying the right thing. Just say something and show up.”
Blacc suggested that people offer a “moment of joy” when they do reach out, such as a memory that sparks laughter or a song. He also encouraged people to remember that they are “the light.”
“There’s no such thing as too much love. Let’s give as much as we can,” he said.
Women’s fiction prize names finalists:
U.s.french writer Aube Rey Lescure’s debut novel “River East, River West,” which depicts west to east immigration through the story of Americans in China, and British author Isabella Hammad’s “Enter Ghost,” which charts a Shakespearean actor’s complicated return to her Palestinian homeland, are among six finalists for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
The shortlist announced Wednesday includes two Irish writers: Claire Kilroy, for her story of motherhood, “Soldier, Sailor,” and
Anne Enright for multigenerational saga “The Wren, The Wren.” Australia’s Kate Grenville makes the list with her historical adventure “Restless Dolly Maunder.” U.S. writer
V.V. Ganeshananthan is nominated for “Brotherless Night,” set during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Singer Mandisa dies:
Mandisa, a contemporary Christian singer who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album “Overcomer,” has died. She was 47. A representative for Mandisa said she was found dead in her home in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 18. The cause of death was not yet known.
Mandisa, whose full name was Mandisa Lynn Hundley, grew up singing in church. She gained stardom after finishing ninth on “Idol” in 2006.
Actor Al Pacino is 84. Bassist Stu Cook is 79. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus is 79. Actor Talia Shire is 78. Actor Jeffrey Demunn is 77. Actor Hank Azaria is 60. Guitarist
Rory Feek is 59. Actor Gina Torres is 55. Actor Renée Zellweger is 55. Actor Jason Lee is 54. Actor Emily Bergl is 49. Actor Marguerite Moreau is 47.