Live life, love hard & never ever give up - with Jane Macdonell

Today’s episode of Happy Thistle covers a hugely sensitive topic. Teenage suicide. I met Jane Macdonell last year and was struck by her incredible resilience, strength, unbelievable courage, lust for life and attempt to still try and be happy.  How is this possible I kept asking myself?  Jane was dealt the cruellest of all blows as a mother.. the death of her 19 year old son Harris through suicide.

With the support of her husband Dave, their three children, friends, family and local community Jane gets up every morning to tackle life. They set up the ‘Harris Trust’ ~ a charity to raise awareness and provide training around neurodiversity and mental health in the Scottish Borders.  They’ve organised ceilidhs, runs, concerts. Ultimately it’s all about helping prevent what happened to them happen again to another family.

Jane’s mantra is: ‘Try to find something that gives you joy every day. It can be a very small thing but you can find it. ‘

I cannot express how in awe I am of this woman. You will need tissues.

If you loved this episode, take a screenshot and tag me over on Instagram @woodyymorris, and if you feel inclined  jump onto Apple podcasts and leave a 5* review.

Always remember.. When you smile, the world smiles back!

Intro & Outro Music by Mànran