Editor’s note:
Naomi Knoles passed away from suicide on August 24, 2015. After the birth of her daughter, Anna, Knoles suffered from postpartum depression and psychosis. Before her death, she told her story in the must-see documentary, When the Bough Breaks, of how she tried to take her own life and failed. She describes how upon waking and realizing she was still alive, she then took her daughter’s life because she never wanted her daughter to feel the kind of terrible emotional pain she was in and in her psychosis she believed it was best for her daughter to die. Despite that fact that Knoles was suffering from postpartum psychosis, she was sentenced to 10 years in an Arizona prison for Anna’s death. Upon her release in 2013, she became involved with Postpartum Support International in an effort to save other mothers and babies. She says she visited her daughter’s grave and told her that her death would not be in vain.
Tragically, Naomi continued to battle depression even after her release from prison, and took her own life. This is an example of how truly exhausting the fight against depression can be. Lindsay Lipton Gerszt, herself a postpartum depression survivior who fights and ongoing battle, and one of the producers of When the Bough Breaks, tells of her relationship with Knoles and what she learned when she lost her.
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Photo: Lindsay Gerszt (left) and Naomi Knoles. Courtesy Lindsay Gerszt
Two years ago I lost my dear friend, Naomi Knoles, from suicide. I met Naomi when we interviewed her for “When The Bough Breaks,” a documentary about postpartum depression. Naomi suffered from postpartum psychosis and ultimately took her daughter’s life. After spending 10 years in prison for her crime, she also took her own life. Her story is a tragic one and changed my life forever. This is what I learned after Naomi lost her battle with depression.
