What type of tragedy does this advice address:
Suicide

Did your family ever deal with this type of tragedy?
Yes

Please describe the tragedy:
Mother (mine) despairs over various things, real or perceived, and kills self. Father becomes progressively more alcohol-dependent, and 6 years later follows the same path, leaving: a second wife, a very young son, and a teenager who later evolved to become...Me. At age ll, and again at 17, I experienced:

What were the feelings your child was experiencing?
Fear
Confusion
Sadness
Anger
Depression
Guilt
Responsibility
Denial or Repression
Hate

How did you address those feelings and help your child deal with the tragedy?
It takes a lifetime! You can never totally cleanse your mind of it, so:

Please add any additional comments or suggestions:
Get help, get counseling, lean upon each other for Strength.

Reassure children that they are in No Way responsible for this. And when they are approaching the teen years, discuss some of the factors that did lead to the tragedy. Particularly if there are any substance abuse issues (prescription drugs and alcohol included), you want to avoid history repeating itself.

I thank God and my guardian angels and good friends for seeing me through some thoroughly rotten times, which I wouldn't wish on anyone...but if we'd had counseling, the path might have been a little less rocky, especially early on!
My little brother had the harder cross to bear, in my view, because he couldn't understand it, and being a "Junior", he carried his father's name. A very heavy cross indeed...

I couldn't share these things with my children when they were young, but when my daughter's class got their "drug and alcohol resistance" classes in 5th grade, it was a natural enough topic to disclose. It's not like it was a "skeleton in the closet" topic, quite...but full disclosure wouldn't have served a purpose too early on.

And always, always, I tell her "I would never, ever leave you that way!"

Hugs to ya,