“It’s beyond me.” – Michael Costelloe, father.

“Everyone’s completely in shock [...] I saw him three weeks ago when he stopped by, and he seemed to be in good spirits.” – Matt Dwyer, former colleague.

“I was shocked when I heard, and it still hasn’t really sunk in [...] I never detected anything really troubling about him.” – Joseph Gannascoli, former fellow Sopranos actor and friend.

By now you’ve probably heard about former Sopranos actor John Costelloe’s suicide earlier this month.

I didn’t get wind of the tragedy until late last week, when every news source from Yahoo! to the New York Times seemed to be covering it. When I stumbled upon this New York Post article, however, is when I found all the above quotes. Messages from family members and friends – the people who are often the closest to us – who had no idea, saw no indication, that Costelloe was at risk for suicide.

And why should they have? When someone seems happy and content with life, why should we assume that person is at risk for suicide?

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