I turned 40 on Oct. 10. For many reasons, I am fortunate to be alive. One important reason relates to depression and suicide.

For about 10 years, from age 15 to 25, I suffered from (what I now understand to be) persistent depression. The worst of it was a major depressive episode that began shortly after my first year of law school at the University of Georgia and continued through my entire second year of law school.