I created this as a storyboard. The betrayal by my mother and stepfather, the crawling out of their home and into a life of dancing and prostitution. The shadows represent all the anonymous sex, meaningless and emotionless sex. The large heart is me having my children at ages 20 and 21. The blessings they brought and the emotional difficulty of being a good mother. I’m still crying out for help sometimes, and still haunted by nightmares occasionally.

I was able to finally find stability by having friendships with stable families—usually believing and faithful families. I finally learned about God and that faith and security keeps me going today. Without God, and seeing the good—I would not be here today to paint, write, or speak.