Trigger Warning: This story includes discussion of suicide attempts and suicide loss. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.
Laughter and heavy emotion shared space Oct. 15, at Skewed Orbit on Auburn Avenue, as community members gathered for Comedy & Conversations, an event created by comedians David Perdue and Munir Meghjani, a member of Atlanta Way 2.0’s Board of Directors, that blends stand-up with honest discussions about important topics. That evening’s partner organization was AFSP Georgia (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). The event drew many people who had personal connections to suicide and who came seeking community, comfort and clarity.
Meghjani told the audience they never imagined the series would take on a topic this serious. “We never thought we started this almost five, six years ago that suicide would be a topic that we would talk about… And then Rebecca [a colleague] was like hey do y’all want to do comedy and suicide. We’re like sure. If you entrust us that much…” Perdue added with a small nod: “Yes… we did it.”
The show featured stand-up from Madeline Evans, Baron Vaughn and Ian Abear, whose sets wove humor with difficult personal truths. Evans paused early in her set to acknowledge why the night mattered to her. “My brother passed away from suicide. So this is a very like meaningful thing to me.” She told the room, “I believe everyone deserves to have a voice and to be celebrated… it’s a big mission of mine to go into spaces and lift people up.”
Abear brought a mix of raw storytelling and sharply delivered jokes. “My name is Ian, I’m in therapy… I can’t afford real therapy [instead, he sees an 18-year-old psychology student],” he said, prompting laughter before shifting into a more serious reflection. “One of the things that I address in my therapy is that suicide’s always on the table… I consider it every day. I choose not to every day because I have so many other things in my life that matter.”
He described a childhood overdose attempt that led to hospitalization. “My parents.. took me to the hospital [and I] got my stomach pumped.” Abear was unconscious “for like basically 36 hours” and recalled what he called “obviously a dream,” a vision of being on a train where a man told him he didn’t have a ticket and “threw me off the train and I woke up.”
Throughout the night, performers and speakers emphasized how rarely suicide is discussed openly, even among people surrounded by it. Perdue noted that suicide has touched the comedy scene for years. “I don’t think there’s been… a year where I’ve gone without knowing a comedian who’s died by suicide.”
In between comedy sets, Perdue and Meghjani hosted a panel discussion with AFSP Georgia representatives Chelsea Payit, Amanda Thomas, Tina and Dascia Freeman.
Freeman spoke about growing up in an environment where emotional struggle was seldom acknowledged. After the loss of her mother-in-law, she discovered AFSP. “I am Jamaican, and it’s just not something that I knew how to deal with… So I turned to the foundation… and the foundation helped me tremendously.” She recalled being comforted by another volunteer. “It was that release that I needed… I wasn’t afraid to cry.”
Introducing herself as both program manager and survivor, Payit notes, “I am a loss survivor. I lost my dad to suicide… I started volunteering in 2014… and then they decided to hire me.” She described AFSP’s work to reduce stigma through language, saying, “You don’t commit cancer, you don’t commit heart disease, just the same way you don’t commit suicide.”
“It’s a very dismissive type of thing… It’s not taken seriously…” Tina mentioned as she discussed the way families often react to mental health struggles. While Thomas encouraged treating mental health with the same seriousness as physical illness. “Let’s treat it like a medical condition… you don’t want to do medicine great, we can do holistic things.”
Thomas also emphasized the power of presence. “Just show up… be that genuinely vulnerable person every human being needs,” she said. Later she added, “We’re humans… we crave that connection… be face to face… get that interaction.”
By the end of the evening, the blend of comedy and conversation had created a space where difficult stories could be shared without fear. The event’s message was clear: talking about suicide is painful but necessary, and community can help lighten the load. For those who want to get involved or find community, AFSP Georgia will host its International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day event on Nov. 22. You can register here.
