Member-only story
Healing Through Movement
Hope after tragedy
When Laura Jo got the call from her best friend’s mother inviting her to his funeral, she thought that it was some kind of sick joke — but it wasn’t. After battling years of bipolar depression and an eating disorder to boot, Anthony Peran figuratively threw in the towel — and hung himself.
Although a shocking story, it’s not a novel statistic for young men between the ages of 15 and 34. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Data & Statistics Fatal Injury Report*, in 2021 men were four more times likely than women to commit suicide, and white males accounted for nearly 70% of suicide death. Unfortunately, Anthony was part of this statistic. He was just 18.
During high school “Besties” Laura Jo and Anthony had been inseparable. They had fun doing what most best friends enjoyed — exchanging music, playing video games, taking photos of each other, and just plain hanging out. But they had a lot more in common than that. The duo, both self-admitted introverts and socially anxious, also bonded over their battle with eating disorders and depression. Laura Jo even talked Anthony out of hurting himself on a handful of occasions.
Despite their close bond (Laura Jo jokes that if Anthony weren’t gay she would have probably been in a relationship with him) after graduation, the…
