Content note: This essay was originally delivered as a speech at the 2025 Out of the Darkness Walk, an annual event designed to engage young adults in the fight to prevent suicide. It discusses suicide.
Hello everyone.
Thank you for the introduction, Marina, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak today. My name is Kyra Vocci and I’m a staff member here at JHU. I stand before you with an extremely heavy heart but also with hope—hope that by sharing my sister Andrea’s story, we can help others, bring awareness, and perhaps even save lives.
Andrea was a bright, loving, and compassionate woman. She had a radiant smile, she was kind, caring, had the funniest laugh, loved a good joke, she was beautiful, loved her family and friends fiercely and had an incredible heart. She was a talented dance teacher and the co-owner of Art in Motion Dance in Huntington, NY. Through her passion for dance, she inspired so many young students, helping them find confidence and joy in movement and choreography.
Andrea was not just my sister—she was my best friend. She was a loving new mother, a devoted wife, a cherished daughter, and a sister whose presence brought warmth to every room she entered. She was also a doting auntie to my two boys, Dominic and Jax, always showering them with love, laughter, lots of gifts and the kind of care that only she could give.
But we lost Andrea to suicide on December 11th, 2023, just one day after her 35th birthday. At the time, her son Harbor, my sweet nephew, was only three months old. She had been struggling with postpartum depression, and it turned into psychosis very quickly. The days, weeks, and months following the birth of a child are supposed to be filled with love and joy. But for many women, including Andrea, they are instead filled with overwhelming darkness, isolation, and pain. Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are real, they are serious, and they can be devastating. Yet, they are too often overlooked or misunderstood.
Many women suffer in silence, afraid of judgment or unsure of where to turn for help. That is why awareness is so crucial. We need to talk about postpartum depression openly. We need to educate new mothers, their families, and the medical professionals who care for them. We need doctors, OBGYNs, nurses, and therapists to recognize the signs, listen with compassion and provide the necessary support before it’s too late.
After we lost Andrea, I discovered an organization called Postpartum Support International (PSI) through a simple Google search made by my son, Dominic. I wish we had known about this organization sooner. PSI provides critical resources, education, and a lifeline for mothers struggling with postpartum mental health conditions. This is the kind of support that needs to be more widely known and accessible to those who need it most.
If Andrea had felt more supported in reaching out, that she wasn’t alone in her struggle, if there had been more awareness and understanding of what she was going through— maybe things could have been different.
So, I ask each of you to help spread the message: No one should ever suffer in silence. If you are struggling, please know that you are not alone. There is hope. Things can, and usually do, get better. There are people who care about you and want to help. Reach out. Speak up. And to those who are in a position to support someone struggling, please listen, be present and encourage them to seek the help they deserve.
Andrea’s story should have never ended this way. By sharing it, I hope we can spare other families from such heartbreak and help save more lives. In honor of Andrea’s life, I founded Andrea’s Wish Foundation to support mothers facing postpartum depression and maternal mental health struggles. Our mission is to raise awareness, improve access to essential resources, and offer compassionate postpartum support to families in need. Through advocacy and education, we strive to ensure no mother feels alone and that mental health care becomes a priority for all.
As we walk today, let’s remember that change starts with awareness, and awareness leads to action. By speaking out, supporting one another, and advocating for better mental health care, we can create a world where no one feels alone in their struggles. Let’s honor Andrea’s legacy by working together to save lives and bring hope to those who need it most.
Today and every day, I am walking for my sister, Andrea.
Thank you.