It reminds us of the very strong emotions that swirl around the break-up of long term marriages and how much pain and suffering they cause.
The view that 'these things happen' needs to be challenged. My (adult) children's lives, and mine are forever changed. We are not living in the past, and have all forged good lives, but the past casts a long shadow. And since my xh is still not happy you have to wonder!
Of course I am not advocating that unhappy and dysfunctional marriages should be forced to endure, but the idea that it is normal to divorce after 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years or more of marriage does need questioning.
It is easier to break up a long term marriage than it is to unilaterally dissolve a business relationship in many jurisdictions.
With regard to suicide - I believe (and my work leads me to say this) that just as there is overt and covert depression - one is more evident, the other less easy to spot, there are also 'signs of suicide' and then there are the ones where 'nobody saw this one coming'. This can sometimes be spotted but they are very very good at putting on a good face.
