By the age of thirty, Author and entrepreneur David A. Threatt‘s life was spiraling out of control. His business was failing and he was in a grave of debt that he never thought he’d get out of. Plus, he felt that he hadn’t been the best man or father he could be, and was going through a divorce.
Like many men struggling, he felt like, if he couldn’t provide for his family, then what was he good for?
That’s when he decided he was going to take his own life. But something miraculous happened. Here’s his account in his own words:
“I had been beating myself up over and over, fast forwarding and rewinding every bad decision I’d ever made in my life,” explains Threatt to the Huffington Post. “I suffered from insomnia. I drank too much. Smoked weed too much. I had completely lost touch of who I was or what I could achieve in life. I lost faith in myself.”
“I never would have thought I would attempt suicide. Everyone knew me as strong person, someone who had it all together. But I had built up walls around me so people couldn’t see the insecurity, the depression I was fighting against.”
“I woke up from a coma strapped to a hospital bed. Spent three days in the intensive care unit, and two weeks in psychiatric care. I knew then there was a purpose for me still being alive. God had work for me to do.”
“I found that work in The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Volunteering for AFSP and the Out of the Darkness Community Walks contributed to my healing and helped save my life. AFSP has given me the opportunity to turn a negative into a positive for myself, my family and many others in my community. I founded the first chapter of AFSP in Oklahoma to reach out to those suffering with depression and other mental health conditions, and well as those suffering from the loss of a loved one to suicide.”
Working for AFSP gave Threatt the strength to prevail. Twelve years after trying to take his life, he is a better man, a better father, and a better business man.
Wonderfully engaging and intensely real, Threatt’s written story, And Then I Woke Up: From Suicide To Success, smashes the notion that suicide is a taboo topic that should be dealt with privately. Generously sharing his own pain and victories, he…
… encourages others to give voice to their suffering and to find the help they need without shame or fear.
Raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Threatt owns The Hair Café Barber Shop & Salon in Oklahoma City and is the chairman and founder of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Oklahoma Chapter.
Threatt has served as an Oklahoma state-appointed Suicide Prevention Council member since 2011. He received the Toast Masters International Communication Achievement Award in 2014.
For more on how to find his book, click here.
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