When Natalie opened her counseling practice for high conflict divorce and co-parenting therapy, I knew that we had an unspoken connection. My life had been the definition of high conflict, as I not only lived through a painful childhood with alcoholic and abusive parents, but had even weathered my own broken marriage.

The first thing that came to mind when Natalie had asked me to share my story was the moment I realized that my husband had found someone else and we were headed toward divorce. At the time, I was only 30 years old, with two daughters – 11 and four years old. I soon realized that I had to figure out how to raise them on my own.

To escape my own painful childhood and my alcoholic, divorced parents, I married my first husband, Tommy, when I was only 15 years old. But even then, at that young age, we vowed to each other that divorce would never be an option and that our relationship would never mirror that of my parents. When it came time to admit that divorce was the only choice after 15 years of marriage, it was absolutely devastating. I felt like a failure. I had broken a promise to make this marriage work, and I was convinced that I was going to live the rest of my life alone.

I spent many weeks, months, and even years trying to recover from the pain and emptiness that the loss of my marriage caused. During that time, I was scraping to get by—living paycheck to paycheck; I had to declare bankruptcy and went through a number of difficult work situations—all while trying to make a decent life for my children. Despite these hardships, it was truly the struggles that made me stronger. By surviving feelings of hopelessness and shame, I slowly gained confidence day by day, and I began realizing that I did, indeed, have the strength to make it on my own.

Believing that my past did not define the person that I could become, I began to look forward to the future with fresh optimism, rather than looking behind with guilt, blame and regret. Who I am today is a million miles from who I was then, and that was what truly inspired me to write My Million-Mile Journey, a memoir of my life.

Those days of hopelessness and chaos as a child and then as a young married woman, are mere scars that I can acknowledge and truly be thankful for making me who I am today. I’ve been married to the love of my life, Gary, for over 30 years now. My two daughters are now wives and mothers to amazing children and are also successful businesswomen. Life can seem broken and hopeless and empty, but I am proof that you too can find happiness, peace and fulfillment.

This is not the end of your story. The struggles in your life may leave permanent scars on your heart, but you can heal and use them to your strengths. I wrote My Million-Mile Journey so that I might be able to inspire and give hope to others by sharing my own scars and experiences. If you are going through something, anything, I encourage you to reach out for help, whether you read my book or schedule a consultation with Natalie, especially if you are going through a high conflict divorce or are wondering how to help your kids navigate uncharted waters.

To buy a copy of my book, click on any of the links below. There is a light at the end of this dark time. Sometimes all it takes is a moment of insight.

Patsy Wurster

Author

My Million Mile Journey: http://millionmilejourney.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gyxTHe

Xulon Press: http://bit.ly/2ydfMOB

Barns & Noble: http://bit.ly/2ye5jCw