As soft beams of light filter through the trees, Sarabjit Rana and Kim Prosser speak about life, loss, pain and hope.
asserted
Rana → speak → life
The two have walked distinct paths to get where they are this week in Newmarket, but they now find themselves with an unbreakable bond.
asserted
they → walk → bond
It comes out of shared tragedy — both lost their young sons to suicide after they obtained a poisonous substance from Kenneth Law, a 61-year-old Mississauga man who sat in court this week and listened to families in Canada and the United Kingdom explain how his actions profoundly reshaped everything they hold dear.
asserted
they → come → everything
And it’s more.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
For these two mothers, the unexpected outcome from the hearings is the new sense of comfort and connection they now feel for one another.
asserted
they → feel → one
This week, they have each found someone who can understand the depths of their suffering and are now committed to doing advocacy work, together, for the families that have been left behind.
asserted
that → find → families
“I know that in my psyche that God has chosen me for something much bigger,” Rana said.
asserted
Rana → know → something
For her part, Prosser said she’s not a natural public speaker, but it’s what Ashtyn would have wanted.
asserted
Ashtyn → say → what
“It’s terrifying … but it feels important.”
asserted
it → ’ → ?
Law has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of assisting suicide — after charges of first-degree murder were withdrawn — and taken responsibility for 79 deaths in the U.K.
asserted
charges → plead → U.K.
The sprawling nature of Law’s crimes means the world may never know how many lives he’s affected — an agreed statement of facts says he sent 1,209 packages containing materials used for self-harm to more than 40 countries.
uncertain
he → sprawl → countries
Over the course of two days this week, 74 victim impact statements relayed stories of anguish, anger and regret.
asserted
statements → relay → anguish
The victims’ accounts also painted the clearest picture yet of the far-reaching consequences of Law’s crimes — the court heard how family members have been unable to work or lost their jobs due to brain fog and stress, with one parent saying they might have to sell their house to financially survive.
uncertain
they → paint → house
Many spoke of being diagnosed with depression, severe anxiety and hypertension.
asserted
Many → speak → depression
Several said they avoid social interactions altogether.
asserted
they → say → interactions
It’s too agonizing to answer the inevitable question of how their fractured family is doing.
asserted
family → ’ → question
During her victim impact statement, Rana spoke of how she can’t stop hearing the sound of her son, Amrit, running down the stairs.
asserted
she → speak → stairs
Amrit died by suicide after consuming the poison he received from Law at age 21.
asserted
he → die → age
Under the trees, as the two mothers speak with the Star, Prosser reads a suicide note left by her son Ashtyn, whom she lost in Thunder Bay at age 19 after he ordered the substance from Law; Rana breaks into tears.
asserted
Rana → speak → tears
She wipes her face with a pair of fuzzy slippers that belonged to Amrit — he would wear them while “galloping” down the stairs, and on the last day he lived.
asserted
he → wipe → day
“I didn’t know what Kim’s letter would do to me,” Rana said — “I thought, that’s Amrit.”
asserted
that → know → me
Throughout the conversation, she speaks of souls, the afterlife and the spiritual work she needs to do to break the cycle of reincarnation.
asserted
she → speak → reincarnation
“I have said the exact same thing,” Prosser interrupts, her face lighting up.
asserted
face → say → thing
The two have said it’s almost eerie how much their sons — and each other — share.
asserted
sons → say → much
Both young men struggled with depression.
asserted
men → struggle → depression
They each spent a lot of time on Discord, a platform for gamers, and were creative, intelligent, deeply sensitive.
asserted
They → spend → gamers
The mothers shared stories about how their sons used to dress in bright colours before difficult circumstances in life made them switch to more muted tones.
asserted
them → share → tones
Amrit, like Prosser’s older son Drake, was a performer, and he acted in plays.
asserted
he → act → plays
Drake, a dancer, received the call about his brother’s death on the same day he was set to return to the stage after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
asserted
he → receive → pandemic
Speaking to the Star Friday, Drake, too, marvelled at how many commonalities he heard between families.
asserted
he → speak → families
“It was crazy to realize how much connection we have,” he said of Amrit.
asserted
he → realize → Amrit
“There were so many common threads of empathy, being artistic, smart and just feeling different in the world,” he said.
asserted
he → be → world
“This thing that should be such a huge source of strength and pride ... was part of the thing that made them feel excluded.”
asserted
them → exclude → thing
He said he too found comfort in hearing other families’ stories, to know there are others to “carry the weight of this.”
asserted
he → say → this
“We aren’t suffering in this alone.”
asserted
We → suffer → this
Rana and Prosser said they have both had visions of their sons.
asserted
they → say → sons
Rana told of how a spiritual advisor made contact with her son and said he felt trapped between worlds.
asserted
he → tell → worlds
After Amrit consumed the poison, he asked his parents to call 911.
asserted
he → consume → 911
She said it took an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
asserted
ambulance → say → hour
During that time, they watched as he stopped breathing and his body went cold in his father’s arms.
asserted
body → watch → arms
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
