Jordan Clark is a speaker, author, blogger, and teen activist who lives and travels in the area in and around Nashville, Tennessee. Clark is one of the youngest figures in the Emergent Church movement, with very similar beliefs and characteristics as the now college-age Alex and Brett Harris. Clark is most well-known for his suicide story, as well as his struggles with clinical depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Early life Jordan Clark was born to parents Larry and Beverly Clark on November 3, 1993. Not much is known about his childhood, other than the fact that his parents were largely absent from his life. Clark attended a prototype, public elementary school called The Discovery School in Dickson, Tennessee. There, he rose to the top of his class. There are rumors that, in his childhood, Clark fell victim to some form of child abuse, however, Clark has never made a recorded statement regarding this matter. Early adolescence and suicide attempt Forced to leave his friends behind and attend a different middle school than his class at The Discovery School, Clark began his adolescence on rocky ground. Instantly falling victim to bullying and harassment at the hands of other students, Clark began to descend into depression. Shortly after beginning middle school, his parents separated. This climactic event fell, coincidentally, on his birthday of that year. After a year of custody battles, Clark's parents finalized their divorce in the middle of his 7th grade year. This came as Clark spiraled even deeper into clinical depression, as he continually blamed his parents separation on himself. Clark's religion was largely nonexistent at the time, though he did spend much of his childhood in the United Methodist Church. 8th grade brought about a climax to the events of Clark's middle school career. Shortly after the beginning of the school year, Clark decided to to take his own life. So September 17, 2007, as he sat at his grandparents' house alone, Clark swallowed 118 aspirin pills and grabbed a .44 revolver from beneath his grandfather's mattress and held it to his head. In his book, he describes this experience in great detail, delving deep into his thought processes and the various 'voices' he heard in his head. One of these 'voices' he claims encouraged him to shoot the gun into the ground, call a friend, and get help. Despite the advice of this 'voice', Clark aimed the gun at his forehead and prepped himself to pull the trigger. However, before he could fire the revolver, he heard his cell phone ring in the adjacent room. Thinking it might be worth a last glance, Clark opened his phone only to reveal a text message from a friend reading, I'm worried about you. Are you okay? Clark texted back two words, No, Suicidal which initiated a chain of events that landed him in a high-security adolescent recovery center in Nashville, Tennessee. At this center, Clark claims to have undergone a tremendous transformation. After claiming to meet Jesus in a dream, Clark exited the hospital a "new man", as he claims both in his website and book. A converted evangelical Christian, Clark started a Bible Study through the local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and quickly ascended its ranks to president.
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