This article describes an exploratory qualitative study examining the impact of suicide on 19 African American families. The majority of participants were women who lost children. Participants were interviewed for an average of 2.5 hours using a semi-structured interview. The majority of survivors felt they had to go through the grieving process alone. Those survivors who did receive support most often received it from family members & friends. Most felt the support, if any, offered from the church was unhelpful. Negative attitudes about suicide from the broader community & from family members made it more difficult for these families to grieve. (31 refs.)