In a deeply personal conversation Angela reflects on her journey through grief, the importance of her support network and why breaking the stigma around men’s mental health remains urgent.
She discusses her Bafta-nominated BBC documentary Life After Suicide, a project she felt compelled to make after years of encouraging others to speak out, and with honesty and hope, she explores how far the conversation about mental health has come and the progress still needed to save more lives.
Speaking on the Edge Ahead podcast, she shared the immediate impact of Mark’s death: “We’d gone from being a normal family unit with its normal ups and downs, with potty training and things like that, to becoming a single parent family.
“And the change happened in 15 minutes; I literally spoke to him at 6pm and by 6.15pm he wasn’t alive anymore.
“I didn’t know he was experiencing suicidal thoughts but knowing what we know now about men’s mental health there were huge red flags there.
“I wish the last conversation we had was me asking him how he was feeling and if he was experiencing suicidal thoughts. Looking back, that was the conversation I would have with him now.”
Angela describes her grief as “like having this big massive stone in the pit of my stomach” and the huge challenge of trying to support her two sons, then aged three and 13.
“It was really difficult to navigate that conversation. Someone had my kids in front of a counsellor within 24 hours. What they needed was just to stay close to us and feel that in the chaos it was OK. I don’t think I always got it right but I always tried my best.”
Angela has been passionate about creating change that she also co-authored the award-winning Zero Suicide Alliance training, now accessed by over three million people worldwide.
And she has been comforted by how far understanding about men’s mental health and suicide has come in the years since Mark died.
“I’ve just tried to educate myself and put things in place which might help other people. I’ve been honest about what I’ve experienced, what the boys have experienced, what that feels like.
“There’s absolutely been huge change in the last 20 years; then I thought I was the only person this had happened to. Actually I was surrounded by people who had been impacted, affected, bereaved by suicide but no-one was talking about it.
“It was only when I started to be quite honest, because I didn’t know what else to do with it, that people would say that happened to me, my relative, my friend.”
Co-hosts of this first series of podcasts entitled ‘What’s in Your Head?’ are Chris Kirkland, Premier League goalkeeper and Edge Hill Honorary Doctor, who has been very open about his own struggles with mental health, and popular regional podcaster Gareth Roberts.
The pair shared their own perceptions that conversations around mental health are becoming easier to have, that people are “checking in on each other more”, helping those who are struggling to “be brave” and speak out, to ask for help.
Angela described the help she found in a support group: “I just felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders because all of a sudden I wasn’t alone.”
And her drive to continue speaking out, for herself and others: “I never underestimate the power and the privilege I feel every time I have these conversations. It’s about putting out into the world what we need for our kids.”
Hear more about Angela’s experiences by streaming the full episode. Explore other episodes of ‘What’s in Your Head?’, featuring guests with expertise or lived experience of mental health, on Spotify and YouTube now.
The podcast series discusses topics including addiction, depression and suicide and sometimes contains strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Edge Hill University’s Student Services provides dedicated support with mental health and wellbeing and staff can access help through the employee assistance programme.
December 2, 2025
