It’s been a long, tough week for many of us here at the Daily Times. We continue to come to grips with the loss of our colleague, staff reporter Stephanie Whalen.

Maybe the most heartening thing to come out of this tragedy has been the unbelievable response from readers and the public. They have reached out to support us, and the newspaper, as well as Stephanie’s family.

People who dealt with Steph on stories called and e-mailed the newspaper to praise her work, and offer their condolences.

Yesterday I received a letter that offered another valuable lesson for us all to take from this incredibly sad turn of events.

A woman from Boothwyn wrote to describe her own ordeal – and her daughter’s – who also dealt with the mystery of post-partum depression.

She told of how her daughter “went into the hospital to have her first baby and upon delivery became someone I hadn’t known before.”

Luckily, she got help before any harm came to her daughter, or her baby. They’re both now doing fine.

But the woman was touched by the tragedy we found ourselves in at the Daily Times and urged us to shed light on this “killer of beautiful new mothers.”

“Please educate people about post-partum depression so many young women like Stephanie will be aware of the signs and go on with their life,” she wrote. “Give them the gift of growing old with their children.”

I’d like to thank the woman for her kind letter and heartfelt expression of sympathy.

I plan to do exactly that, pulling back the curtains on this mystery killer.

This is just the start.