CELEBRATING LIFE AFTER SURVIVING A SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Photographer Dese'Rae Stage has taken a snapshot of America to talk about suicide since 2010. "You hear that word suicide and you think, " I don't want to go there," Stage explained. This project is not about death. This project is about life. And my work is about life". There are almost 200 people in the exhibit. All of them survived at least one suicide attempt. For the project LIVE THROUGH THIS, they agreed to let Stage use their names, tell their stories and take a portrait. Stage revealed, "What this project does is it gives people permission to talk about it, which is often all we really need". Her technique is for the subjects to look directly at the camera. Stage said, " There's something about looking directly into someone's eyes, there's intimacy there". Talking about this taboo subject and challenge assumption is her goal. The 33-year old Stage has tried to end her life twice. The most recent was 11 years ago. She gives "a lot of love" from her friends credit for her surviving. She said, "I got the help when I needed it". "There's a real bravery and a courage to live through an experience like that and stand up and go 'OK, well I'm going to keep on living now," Stage declared. Of the people whose portraits hang in the exhibit, many continue to struggle. Still in all the photos, you can see the face of resilience. CBS 2017 Report by Mark Strassmann