Kintsugi Heroes
Nicole Peterson · 109 min
Nicole Peterson survived the unimaginable twice — her daughter Emma's miraculous first survival from suicide at thirteen, and then, after seventeen months of hope and healing, Emma's death by suicide at sixteen — and tells that story with unflinching honesty so others living through it know they are not alone.
Nicole Peterson survived the unimaginable twice. Her daughter Emma, at thirteen, survived a suicide attempt after jumping from a cliff on the first day of Year 8. After seventeen months of genuine healing and hope, Emma died by suicide at sixteen. Nicole tells this story with unflinching honesty so others living through similar darkness know they are not alone.
Emma was born with vivid personality, creative from her earliest years, always in a fantasy world and changing outfits throughout the day. But as she moved through primary school and into high school, unspoken struggles accumulated: bullying, a vomiting phobia, learning difficulties that went unsupported, unwanted sexual attention online, and the weight of trying to fit in with a crowd that felt unsafe. A community death and a GP appointment where Emma disclosed suicidal thoughts set off a chain of events that led to her first attempt.
What followed was a hospital stay, physical recovery, and then a darker spiral. When Emma returned to school, peers told her she should have died, that she should kill herself properly next time. She was assaulted, sexually abused, stalked. For nearly two years there were seventeen hospital admissions, self-harm, substance use, and a family holding on by threads. Then, without warning, something shifted. Emma stopped drinking, started watching a show about faith with her parents, and for seventeen months the family experienced warmth and genuine connection again.
Ten days after Emma spoke at a fundraising event as a youth mental health ambassador, after a confrontation with boys at a kia stop triggered overwhelming shame, she did not recover from it. Nicole carries gratitude for the time they had together, and for knowing her daughter as she grew into the woman she was becoming.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation, grief & loss and suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗