A Family Broken: A true story of love, betrayal, suicide, and forgiveness

A True Story of Love, Betrayal, Suicide and Forgiveness This is a memoir of a young, very attractive strong, willed female who did whatever it took to become a law enforcement officer in the late 1980’s. After overcoming many obstacles, she finally earns respect from her male counterparts and becomes an important asset to her agency.She marries and has her first child. Her husband at the time is non-supportive and would rather be single. This newly pinned officer faces challenge number one, she becomes a single mother. But not too long after her divorce, she meets the man of her dreams. She was so happy in love, she felt almost underserving to have been gifted with such joy.Within a few years of this fairy tale love, a family of three, they would say, tried to become a family of four, but pregnancy never came. They then adopted a child and created quite an epitomized family.They both begin to climb the law enforcement ladders of success. She becomes the domestic violence guru for the 12th judicial circuit, and he, a member of the most elite squad – S.W.A.T. They were considered by most, a power couple. But their self-built utopia begins to crumble when he becomes a raging alcoholic. Together, they spend many nights in therapy, counseling, and rehabilitation programs. It was at this time, she re-evaluated her life with her husband, and how his drinking has affected her children. She decides to have him leave the residence. This is when the violence begins. He stalks her, torments her, becomes violent, he sends her emails of hate and disgust. She blocks him from calling her, but that doesn’t stop him. He begins to call her work phone and calls her the vilest names a man could call a woman. Her other co-workers would complain but everything he did was covered up by his buddies. She is left to fend for herself. She is a nobody in an unbreakable system that still holds strong today. After two years of reporting his abuse, and having no results, she requests a hearing with a judge. This judge orders a parenting coordinator for the son, advises him all emails must go through the coordinator, and he is to have no contact with her whatsoever. Should he, he will be held in contempt of a judge’s order. Finally, she thought, there would be an end to the hell she had been living. Maybe she could breathe again and be free.Knowing there was no one to protect him from the judge, his game was over. He commits suicide with his service weapon. Their son, who was now 13 yoa, finds his father with a bullet hole in his head and calls his mother. When she gets to her son, she sees his body lying next to the lake and feels as if his spirit is traveling through hers. She begins to run towards him only to be stopped by the good ole boys. She screams at them. “How are you going to cover this up? I told you this would happen. I warned you. Your cover-ups led to his death!” Her family was truly broken.Within one month of recovering from the tragedy of suicide, her daughter was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. She spent several months in hospital rehabilitation assisting her daughter’s recovery. Ultimately, her daughter achieved a complete recovery. Just when she thought the sun was going to shine again, and a simpler life could begin, her mother succumbs to cancer and passes away. It seemed as if time had fallen still for this family. It took many years of therapy and strength to put this family back together. But she could never forgive him. It wasn’t until he started appearing in her dreams. He would never speak, just look at her as if he was begging for her forgiveness.After ten years, she decides to forgive him. She does it in a church where she feels closest to God and found the cross to be the place to lay her burden down. After she forgives him, he begins to speak to her in her dreams. She can finally move on. Read more