This presentation discusses relational theory & notes that breaches in attachment are central to the survivor’s experience. A sense of incompetence, failure, & shame may overtake one’s perception of oneself as a sister, husband, mother, or friend. The survivor battles a legacy of disconnection on every level from the internal to interpersonal to societal, mirroring the levels reflected in the act of suicide itself. An important task of bereavement is to regain a sense of relational competence.