Another year without my best friend, Brent Thurn.
Some days it still doesn’t feel real. I miss his laugh. I miss our random conversations about whatever we were working on. I miss him telling me about the hockey game he worked the night before like it was the biggest event in the world. Those ordinary moments are the ones I miss the most.
We lost Brent to suicide in 2021. It shook all of us. It broke something open that can’t ever really be put back the same way. There’s a space where he should be, and it’s just… not filled.
But today isn’t only about the loss. It’s about loving him out loud. It’s about remembering who he was. And it’s about trying to turn pain into something that might help someone else.
Every year, Team Shake It Off rides in The Ride for Mental Health for Brent — and for everyone fighting battles we can’t always see. Every mile hurts a little, but not in the way this does. Every dollar raised goes toward mental health research at McLean Hospital so maybe, just maybe, more families get answers and support before it’s too late.
We ride because he mattered.
We ride because this matters.
We ride because no family should have to feel this.
If you’re struggling, please don’t carry it alone. Please. Call or text 988. Talk to someone. Let someone sit in it with you. You are not weak for needing help.
Brent — we love you. We miss you. We’re still riding for you.
The Ride for Mental Health 2026
The Ride for Mental Health is one of the first rides in the country to benefit mental health. The proceeds raised will be donated to McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, for the education, research, and treatment of mental illness including anxiety, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders and substance abuse. Our mission is to raise funds for McLean so that we can help accelerate the progress being made to help others who suffer from mental illness.
We also hope to end the stigma surrounding mental illness through education and awareness. The promotion of this ride is a start. Many if not most of us are touched by close friends and relatives who have suffered from one type or another of mental illness.
MATCHING GIFTS:
Many employers will match your gift to the Ride. Please check with your company.
Checks should be made payable to Eric’s Ride Inc. and mailed to:
Mac Dorris
537 1st Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Eric's Ride Inc. is a New York not for profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. The Ride has 2 goals: to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and to raise critically needed funds for education, research and treatment of mental illness. The funds raised by the riders and volunteers will be donated to McLean Hospital, the nation's number 1-rated psychiatric hospital and an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and to local charities that focus on mental health.