by Josh Axelrod, Samantha Balaban and Scott Simon

“Dr. Julie Rickard thought her visit to Wisconsin over the Christmas holiday would bring a break from her day job working in suicide prevention in Wenatchee, Wash.

“The visit didn’t go as planned. After a tense fight broke out between her mother and another family member, everyone dispersed. Rickard readied herself for the trip back to the Pacific Northwest.

“At the airport, she received a call from her mother, Sheri Adler. This was not out of the ordinary — Adler, like many adoring mothers, always calls her daughter after parting ways.

On the phone, Adler wanted to tell her daughter how much she loved and appreciated her.

“‘Normally I would think, “Oh that’s a sign of suicide … ”’”

Continue reading this article at NPR.org.