My moment was clarity that I had to move - though long divorced, I was staying in a town that didn’t match my values for someone else’s reasons…and I could see that the change was needed for my girl, too. The more I observed, the more the gravity of the situation emerged: I had to make a change for myself and my daughter, Harriet.

I didn’t have the same resources to fight as he did. I spent $20,000 on a lawyer in a month & had to represent myself. Trial took 65 weeks. Trial was unfair. In the last 2 weeks of trial, I sold one of my only assets: a car that I had paid off and planned to keep for a decade (or more). I gave that money to a lawyer and it was gone with literally nothing to show for it…except the deep knowledge that I could not keep what I had learned to myself and I had much, much more to learn.

I fought through the system & taught myself. I watched court and studied. I read and I cried and I walked it all off, all the time, and it all almost broke me. I found out about ‘coaching’ as a resource a week before my trial ended but could not begin the program until nearly 6 weeks after my trial was over. I tied and gained the respect of the judge but: I did not win. I was, absolutely, out-lawyered: and it was not “in the best interest”. It was bullsh*t.

I knew that I had no option but to take the courses and share my experiences with other parents. Building this was not a choice: it was/is a calling.

Breaking down the process into steps, making things feel more manageable, ensuring you have someone to listen when you’ve worn out family and friends (and yourself) with the talking points…I know you need it because I was you.

If I can save a family any amount of the grief I’ve experienced, then I feel that my value has been met.

I hope you do, too.