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Episode 247

247: “I had to get something positive out of such a great loss” - Hannah Speers’ story

About this episode

Hannah Speers was standing on a stage speaking when I first heard her story, and I knew instantly that I wanted to invite her onto the show. When Hannah met her husband Joe in Tumut near the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, she didn't think she wanted to have kids. But she realised that she loved Joe enough to have his kids. And very quickly Liam came along in 2008, followed by Lulu, 12 months later. Hannah and Joe set up their family not far outside of Tumut in a small town called Adelong. Hannah had a successful career at Elders (where she still works) and Joe was working as a Machinery Operator in one of the Pine Mill's in town. Life was good, chaos, but good. Then a series of events happened that led to their youngest, Lulu, being diagnosed with anxiety. But unbeknownst to Hannah, Liam was also struggling... and what happened next is unimaginable. Hannah is a remarkable woman. And she is going to help a lot of parents of teenagers by sharing her story today. Just a warning, this conversation deals with suicide and parts of Hannah's story is very upsetting. If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline now on 131114. To learn more about checking and optimising your nbn digital set-up from wherever you are in regional or rural Australia visit:

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