Gifted and Alone

• Mission Statement by Georg Eifert, 3/7/98
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    • Gifted and Alone by Linda Rutherford, 8/31/98
      
      

Linda Rutherford: A friend of mine, who commited suicide 2 & 1/2 years ago, sounds very much like your son. She was phenomenal, absolutely and utterly gifted. I met her in year 11, she sat with a close knit group of friends who were just as talented and gifted as she was (but she was always that much better than they were academically), she would come first in everything every year. She would write the most coherent most articulate essays imaginable and was greatly admired. I was always jealous of her.. She would have no problems expressing herself on paper, but when it meant meeting new people or being in social situations she would cringe.. I'm not exactly the social type myself, I choose to be the reclusive person I am, but, I was better able to handle a social situation than she was. I would always make her laugh, she would make me laugh, I would always start conversations with her and we would chat away, I really enjoyed her company, sometimes i felt very very stupid because she would start discussions which were very intellectually related and as I am not an intellectual myself (below average), I would become very depressed. Her father (a local town planner in Maitland NSW Australia) knew of her being non socially inclined, he would always go to parent teacher evenings and the first comment that would be stated by the teachers would be "Your Child is absolutely phenomenal".. he would interrupt and ask "I know she is, but more importantly, how is she getting along with the other children?".. Her mother (A General Practioner) disclaimed that her daughters suicide was related to being gifted and alone but rather an illness referred to as depression.. Did her mother not have a clue? It was a lot easier at school for Lucy, she had her friends, she finished her schooling and received a HSC (Higher School Certificate) score of 99.70% and was placed in the top 1% of the state and was accepted at one of the most prestigious Universities in a Bachelor of Medical Science.. It took a month and Lucy was found dead in her home on the morning of the 21st of April 1996 where she overdosed on medical drugs her mother used to take with her on Locums. One can't say she couldn't handle university studies as she was only into Univeristy for about a month. We all went to different universities and wouldn't see each other as much, she didn't have her close knit friends with her, she felt "Gifted and Alone".

I don't know why she committed suicide, her note didn't express an answer, she just stated that she was grateful that her parents tried to help her, but she stated she couldn't continue living a life on pills. (Before her death (about 2 weeks) her mother had taken her to a psychiatrist because friends had expressed concern for Lucy. The psychiatrist placed her on anti-depressants and stated that she was fine. I know Lucy put on a facade when she saw this psychiatrist).

This post may have many spelling errors and might seem in coherent at times. Please excuse my inability to write.

Email me if you feel it should not have been posted and an apology will be emailed straight back to you.

ajtaylor@socs.uts.edu.au or xanthia@one.net.au

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