Vivian was surrounded by people who loved and adored her, but no one knew she was suffering from childhood trauma, or that she barely slept—sometimes going days without any sleep at all. Even her closest friends had no idea she was suffering in silence. Tragically, when the darkness pressed in and became too much she took her own precious life, and we lost her forever.

I never got the father I longed for. And it made my heart sick for a very long time. I didn’t know I needed to process it. I didn’t even realize it was grief. After all, how can you grieve something you never had? But I’ve since learned - that’s not only possible, it’s necessary. For a long time, I pushed that grief down.

"This is the word of the LORD your Maker, the one who formed you from the womb: He will help you. Do not fear, Jacob my servant, Jeshurun...

When I raised my children, tough love was a term floating around. It was now time to decide if it was something I would need to implement.