Wisdom when Facing Grief

Twist Wine Co. will host booksigning for Jerri Clark,
author of ‘Gone Before Gone,’ on June 27 

Loss can come at any time, either suddenly or via a slow and painful decay. But no matter the circumstances, the pain surrounding is real.

And for those dealing with loss from mental illness, which can happen even before their passing, the pain can come in many forms.

In “Gone Before Gone: When Mental Illness Steals Someone You Love,” author Jerri Niebaum Clark addresses how she survived the loss of her son, Calvin, first to psychosis and then to suicide.

Jerri, who, along with her husband Matt, has visited Pacific City since 1996, will be signing her book at Twist Wine Co., 34930 Brooten Rd., Pacific City, on Saturday, June 27, 4-6 p.m. She will offer remarks and do a reading at 5 p.m.

In addition to being visitors for the last three decades, the Clarks have had a permanent trailer site in Pacific City for many years. All three have also competed in the Cape Kiwanda Longboard Contest — Terri won first place for women aged 50-59 in 2025.

Published by The Sager Group, Clark wrote “Gone Before Gone” ($20, paperback) after her loss. The book tells her story of one day experiencing her son barricading a bathroom in their home to lock away “demons,” and the trials that follow.

She also describes her son’s experience as a “death by degrees.”

The result is a book described on Sager’s promotional page as “Part memoir, part survival guide, complete with practical exercises” and a book that will make the reader “feel as though a kind mom is holding your hand and helping you breathe as you bravely take one step at a time toward healing yourself.”

She adds her book is a survival toolkit for anyone navigating the “turbulent waters of grief.”

“Given the recent death that’s presumed a suicide at Devil’s Punchbowl, this topic has immediate relevance to our coastal communities,” Jerri told the Sun. “I commented about my book and my work on a recent post about the death by Otter Rock and a few people have reached out to me for direct support and assistance because of circumstances related to mental illness in their own families. I’ve participated in statewide work groups in Oregon to advocate for improvements to the mental health treatment system.”

Jerri is a resource and advocacy manager at the nonprofit Treatment Advocacy Center, where she supports a national helpline for people attempting to navigate treatment and legal systems. She writes content for TAC’s Schizophrenia and Psychosis Resource Center and supports national training programs for grassroots advocates and families attempting to support loved ones with severe mental illness (SMI), which means illnesses that are life-altering and usually include psychosis.

As TAC’s D. J. Jaffe Advocate, she developed online resources and a training program for family members coping with ambiguous losses related to SMI. Her book has been featured on nationally popular podcasts. 

A journalism graduate from the University of Kansas, she spent her early career as an assistant editor for Kansas Alumni Magazine, earning national writing awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. She reprised her Kansas Alumni byline in summer 2021 with “My Son’s Story.”

A yoga teacher for more than 20 years, she sees her ambiguous loss work as a coalescence of the self-discoveries from those practices alongside her journalism, advocacy, and lived experience as a mom stretching to survive a loss beyond human expectation.

For more information about “Gone Before Gone,” visit https://thesagergroup.net/books/gone-before-gone.