A Sad Day at Stone Mountain
As an Atlantan, Stone Mountain has always been my favorite hiking spot. This past Saturday, May 31, the weather was perfect—one of those beautiful spring days that reminds me why I love this city. I spent the afternoon hiking, soaking in the sunshine and the stillness of nature. What I didn’t know at the time was that just hours earlier, something tragic had happened in that very park. Early that morning, a hiker discovered a burned body and reported it to the police. The initial investigation suggested it was a suicide. The victim was a young man in his late twenties. The news broke my heart. It felt especially poignant that this tragedy occurred on the final day of May—Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental illness is a disease, no different from cancer or heart disease. Yet, it still doesn’t receive the attention, empathy, or resources it desperately deserves. People who end their lives are not weak. They are in pain—often a pain so deep and consuming that it clouds judgment and ecl...
