Soon after Carly's death I came across the online journal of somebody Carly had known who told first of hearing the news of Carly's death and then of crying for a long while. The writer observed "Not Carly... she loved life way too much, if anyone had a reason to live, it was her."
She then went on to tell of having met Carly in middle school and of getting to know her along with the other "popular girls". The writer recalled Carly having been the one of them with whom she felt most comfortable. Said writer added: "Throughout high school I was always finding myself jealous of her mere perfection. Her beauty, kindness, generosity and overall demeanor was something I craved, something everyone wishes they could have. Her smile lit up anyone and everything, her music filled hearts and souls, her friendships grew exponentially. I wanted what she had, I wanted that sense of humbleness amidst greatness".
(Pause to acknowledge a couple of very expertly-written terms there)
Most impressive, though, was this testimony of a somewhat humble, then-teenage girl with her own insecurities who shared an unfiltered sense of how she had been impacted by a long-ago Carly Henley. This had been the Carly Henley even before the online videos we see. Carly was then perhaps unpolished and she still favorably impacted this possible outsider to whom many could relate during adolescence.
Reality like that seems the raw material from which others draw today as they remember somebody who was by most accounts enviable and yet not adversely affected by such adulation.
Hopefully Carly's family and close friends gain a lot when able to appreciate just how much their girl impacted the world around her. Her story affects everyone because she was able to do so despite living and seeming within arm's reach of anyone and everyone.
Just tonight I remembered that writer and decided to look back on her efforts at describing what Carly Henley had meant to her life. I'm very glad that I did so because the personal story shared there glistens more vividly three months later than I had really taken the time to appreciate when I first saw it.
In a way I envy everybody whose lives were touched by Carly Henley prior to October 6, 2010, yet I don't know what it was to have felt the loss of what would seem such a personal investment.
Here is a link at which you can find stories chronicling a few of her close friends and describing how and for how long Carly Henley impacted their lives.
What Carly Henley was able and willing to accomplish during her short life span eclipsed the efforts of most in this world who merely shared or approached Carly's physical beauty.
Carly Henley was someone I'd never even heard of before she took her own life at the age of 20 while a talented, popular and attractive junior at university. She seemed the person nobody would ever guess for such a fate. The media doesn't generally cover suicide but Carly Henley could inspire so much caring and understanding and it has to start somewhere... I attempt to present this blog without hurting or offending Carly Henley's family or anyone else but suicide is a delicate subject.
I learned of the death of college student Carly Henley two days after her passing, on October 6, 2010. In the days soon to follow it became clear that scores and scores of people were wounded to the core by the loss. Wonderful evidence around the internet serves to almost suspend Carly Henley's personable allure, her impressive musical talent, and a short life the likes of which most anybody could envy.
Various reports tell of her short term struggle with depression of perhaps three months in duration. Significant in that was the introduction of anti-depressant drug Zoloft via prescription some two weeks before Carly took her own life.
Not lost on me now, finally, is the wording in the "Black Box Warning" with Zoloft, which states that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in persons younger than 25. Risk is especially heightened during the first two months of taking anti-depressants.
The labels on anti-depressant drugs in the U.S. were altered to reference young adults aged 18 to 24 just three years earlier - in 2007.
It is my belief, now, that Carly just happened to land among the small percentage of anti-depressant users who are susceptible to being so affected by a powerful drug such as Zoloft.
One need not ever have known such a remarkable woman to feel the pain all around at the loss of Carly Henley.
So many life lessons are so well represented by Carly Henley's compelling spirit. Let me see if I can help some to gain fuller appreciation for a woman who continues to inspire everyone who ever knew of her.
Various reports tell of her short term struggle with depression of perhaps three months in duration. Significant in that was the introduction of anti-depressant drug Zoloft via prescription some two weeks before Carly took her own life.
Not lost on me now, finally, is the wording in the "Black Box Warning" with Zoloft, which states that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in persons younger than 25. Risk is especially heightened during the first two months of taking anti-depressants.
The labels on anti-depressant drugs in the U.S. were altered to reference young adults aged 18 to 24 just three years earlier - in 2007.
It is my belief, now, that Carly just happened to land among the small percentage of anti-depressant users who are susceptible to being so affected by a powerful drug such as Zoloft.
One need not ever have known such a remarkable woman to feel the pain all around at the loss of Carly Henley.
So many life lessons are so well represented by Carly Henley's compelling spirit. Let me see if I can help some to gain fuller appreciation for a woman who continues to inspire everyone who ever knew of her.
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