I’m talking about Morgan Dunleavy’s plotline, dealing with a potential suicide, in The Bridge today in my author commentary. This is a heavy one, so the SPOILER WARNING starts now.
Social Commentary
I’m not big on social commentary. There are times when it is absolutely necessary and times when you just want to beat your head against the wall rather than listen to one more word about something that charged and divisive.
Social issues have their place in fiction. They always have. Relevance is the key, and there was no way in hell I was going to touch on the idea of suicide unless it came from a place of character over shock value.
There were pieces put into place that made this topic vital to Morgan’s character arc. Her status as a physician was one such piece, and the most crucial as we come to learn in The Clearing that she was a doctor. WAS, being the key takeaway from the exchange.
Nothing is ever said without reason, and I knew there would come a time to explore Morgan’s past. The Bridge, already focusing on Lincoln’s through flashback, became the perfect place to bring Morgan’s own troubles to light.
Morgan’s Plotline
Since Lincoln’s past was being worked through by flashbacks, I needed to differentiate Morgan’s own thread. There was no back and forth. No split to bring readers up to speed on her past. That would have been massively confusing.
No, for Morgan, I brought in Zac as a sounding board. It’s verbose, sure, but their discussion in the book about Morgan’s time in the Middle East and the death of her patients at her hands served two functions:
- Obviously, it tells the reader what happened to her and why she hasn’t been part of her family since.
- It brought Morgan and Zac together, which created new complications down the line for both characters.
To connect readers with Morgan, I needed to dig into what happened with her and her brother. I needed a raw trauma that couldn’t be excused by either party. Her brother’s brush with death was the first element. Her complicity with the deaths of three other soldiers solidified not only her refusal to practice medicine again, but also why her brother tries to end his own life.
She has her justification for her actions. He has his own for trying to kill himself. Neither can be made to see the world from the other’s POV.
I really enjoyed (if that’s the right word for such a topic) playing Morgan and her brother off each other. I think it is one of the strongest exchanges in the series to date. As I mentioned in the opening installment of this commentary, conflict doesn’t have to be physical. Morgan’s thread in The Bridge was always meant to be an emotional struggle, and one that neither sibling is sure will end well.
Suicide
I tread as lightly as I can on the subject. There is a lot of pain in the world, and some need more support than others to see themselves through it all. If there is one takeaway from this book, I hope it is that there are people out there who will be by your side in an instant. Always.
Be it family or friends, doctors or neighbors, hotlines or support groups, there are resources and I hope those in need reach out. No one deserves to feel isolated, trapped, and caught in a well of despair.
If you feel that way, please be sure to reach out and talk to someone today. Call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
