Opening Up After Life's Traumatic Experiences

Life after childhood cancer, abuse, family addictions, death of my son, suicide of my husband, and more.

Tag: Texas

  • Visiting Texas – Blog #13

    Visiting Texas – Blog #13

    I met Jason at a restaurant in Dallas. Jason was the one that was holding the gun when it went off and shot Ryan. My mother went with me. I was so nervous to meet him. I could tell he was scared when I saw him. We hugged and he said he was sorry. I…

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  • My Husband’s Suicide – Blog #3

    My Husband’s Suicide – Blog #3

    My Husband’s Suicide Neal was the funniest person I knew. That is how he captured my heart. He made me laugh everyday, usually at myself! He was so brilliant. You never wanted to play trivia pursuit with him… somehow he always knew the answers! Actually, you could not play any game with him without him…

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  • The Accident – Blog #2

    The Accident – Blog #2

    My son, Ryan, died 7/7/2013 at age 24 after being accidentally shot while at his girlfriend’s family reunion in the Fort Worth area. This is the story of the accident… Growing up in Wyoming, Ryan loved hunting and target shooting! He collected guns and was teaching his new girlfriend to target shoot. They had only…

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  • Losing My Son – Blog #1

    Losing My Son – Blog #1

    My son died July 7th, 2013, he was 24. Grief is scary for me and I always have felt judged while grieving, like I have a mental illness that is somehow contagious. It has taken me awhile to learn that grief is not synonymous with depression. Losing a loved one does not cause illness, it…

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