There are a lot of mysteries modern science has been able to crack. The minds of teenagers is not among them. In my generation, dying at the age of 27 years appeared to be a reasonable goal in life to more of my peers than I was probably aware of. After all, a lot of really great musicians had gone down that road, most notably among them Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison.

While they were in our parents generation, Kurt Cobain became the newest member of the infamous “27 club” when I was a teenager. And seventeen years later Amy Winehouse would join as well, after a long struggle with alcohol and other drug addictions. Highly talented, actually successful on an international market but still haunted by demons beyond her control she decided to call it a definite day while the world was priming itself for even better music to come.

Of course, the warning signs were all there, even from the beginning: “Back To Black”, which marked her international breakthrough already puts the morbid themes that would stay with her throughout her career into the limelight. Brilliantly so. Please make sure to take signs of depression seriously if you notice any with your peers!