Three years ago, Wesleyan college student Molly Jenkins tried to take her own life—twice.

Molly told her mom that her suicidal thoughts first began while recovering from a major surgery that left her bedridden.

After 6 months of therapy at Chicago’s Rush Hospital, she returned to college and became a mental health advocate.

Molly: “It was really important for me to come out with this stamp on my forehead that said, ‘I’ve attempted suicide and I don’t care what you guys think’ because I knew there were other people who, like me, were suffering in silence.”

To hear Molly and her mother discuss this trying period in their lives for the first time, check out the audio above.

Meredith Zielke is a WBEZ producer.