Episode 114: Joanne Martinez Dunn Part 1, Mom and Licensed Professional Counselor

Written By Susie Gurley

TRIGGER WARNING— this episode contains explicit talk about suicide and methodology.

Listen as Joanne shares her heart-wrenching story of losing her oldest son, Jacob, to suicide in September 2022.  Joanne shares that Jacob was a happy, easy child, and that she started noticing changes in his junior year in high school during Covid. Jacob stopped playing baseball, which he had always loved, and became more isolated in his senior year.  He had an online relationship but did not want to socialize with others. When he graduated from high school, Joanne shares that Jacob wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. 

After sharing that he had thought seriously about suicide, Jacob agreed to go to counseling.  However, when his online girlfriend broke up with him, he was devastated. Jacob died by suicide on September 25, 2022.  Joanne was wracked with grief when Jacob’s father died by suicide less than a month after Jacob. Joanne vulnerably and honestly shares the depth of pain and grief she experienced, leading to her own suicide attempt and subsequent hospitalization.

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

Next

Episode 113: Dr. Curt Thompson, Psychiatrist, Author, Speaker, and Founder of The Center for Being Known