It’s been half a year since Janelle Brown got that final call any parent wants to hear.
As has been well documented by now, the reality star’s son, Garrison, took his own life at the young age of 25 by shooting himself.
Very scary.
Adding to the nightmare…Garrison was discovered by his brother Gabe, who went to check on him after their mother received an alarming message from Garrison the previous night.
In an interview with authorities soon after, Garrison’s roommates said their friend was struggling with depression at the time and had also been drinking too much alcohol.
According to the autopsy, Garrison’s blood alcohol level was .307% at the time of his death.
Last Thursday, Janelle posted a photo of herself and her son on Instagram, along with a tribute to Garrison in the caption.
“6 months ago today you were gone,” the Sister Wives cast member wrote. “You appear in my photo memory almost every day. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like you’re gone. And then I remember I won’t get any calls or texts from you and it all comes rushing back.”
We truly can’t even imagine what Janelle Brown must be going through.
“I know you fought hard, but in the end you couldn’t hold out,” he said on Sept. 5.
“I love you so much and I’ll see you again when my journey is over.”
Janelle has honored Garrison on other occasions, most notably on his 26th birthday in April, which occurred just a few weeks after the tragedy.
“Happy birthday sweetheart. We miss you so much today. It’s hard to believe you’re not here anymore,” Janelle wrote then, adding:
“I still feel you around sometimes.
“And I’m grateful that we’ll see each other again when my journey is complete.”
Meanwhile, Maddie Brown also this week shared a collection of photos of Garrison and their nephew in tribute to her late brother, as well as a childhood photo of herself and Garrison.
Out of respect, we are going to post his heartfelt tribute in full. Check it out here…
It’s been six months since this beautiful soul left us, and not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. In some ways, it seems like he’s on my mind even more now, which can be a sad truth for those who have lost someone in this way.
I’m constantly reminded of how many people are affected by this kind of loss. Every day, I hear from people who, like me, are shocked by the sudden absence of a loved one. Sometimes it’s bullying, sometimes it’s loneliness, and sometimes it’s mental health, which I don’t think we fully understand.
My brother Garrison struggled too, but it wasn’t something any of us saw any signs of. We were really blindsided. We spoke regularly, and my mom’s kids have always been close to each other, even as life changed around us. Garrison was sarcastic and funny, and in moments of seriousness, he seemed almost uncomfortable with it – like it was hard for him to be vulnerable.
I miss him so much, and honestly, I don’t know how to talk about it. His death took us all by surprise. It makes me think – if we talked more openly about mental health, would anything have changed? I’ll never know for sure. But I do know that grief doesn’t go away. It just shifts. And sometimes, it grows.
To anyone who has been affected by a loss like this, my heart is with you. You are not alone in the pain, and it is okay to not know all the answers.