Author raises funds for AFSP.org with a book signing after losing his father to suicide

QUEENS, N.Y. - Oct. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Author and actor Josh Rivedal will be signing copies of his newly released memoir The Gospel According to Josh: A 28-Year Gentile Bar Mitzvah, published by Skookum Hill.

The signing is sponsored by the Friends of Maple Grove and will be held at the Maple Grove Center in Kew Gardens in Queens, NY. The event is a fundraiser for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.afsp.org) in honor of his father whom he lost to suicide in 2009.

“There are hundreds of millions of people who are depressed," Rivedal told the Tri-Town News. “Nobody wants to talk about it because there is a stigma.”

Rivedal was an aspiring actor in New York City when his career was derailed by his father’s suicide in 2009. Tortured by that loss and other personal problems, Josh managed to pull himself from the brink of his own near-suicide experience and eventually devote his energies to helping others in crisis. His book, “The Gospel According to Josh,” is a comedic and poignant tale of love, loss, struggle, and survival.

Prior to the signing there will be a wine and cheese reception. The event begins at 6pm. 127-15 Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, Queens, NY 11415. More information can be obtained by calling 718-544-3600 or contacting toni@skookumhill.com