When we decide on a certain path without first considering the impact those choices will likely have on our life, things can go awry fast. From the time I made my first major decision to abandon the convictions I'd grown up with, my life went into a tailspin. Searching for love, acceptance, and validation led me to some excruciating and traumatizing circumstances to include exploitation, homelessness, racism, domestic violence and sexual assault, drug abuse, jail time, and being the victim of a gang rape. In all of that, I became a mother to three biracial children and a wife with three failed attempts at marriage under my belt. Despite those raw and painful events, I've learned valuable lessons along the way and have risen above the shadow of defeat. I am a true testament to the resilience of our seemingly frail human condition. I am a survivor and this is my story.