And, without her dear pal and favorite bro to keep her entertained and busy in this life, our lonely heroine seemed doomed for more tragedy and continued struggles.

The one thing that helped to keep her head above water since that fateful night of death and destruction where the insidious flames of fire ruined her family, was her three month old newborn baby son, a product of yet another "looking-for-love-in all-the-wrong-places" relationship.

It seemed that for this star, her life had been nothing but a series of violence, anguish, distrust, woes, death and endless struggles.

"Will I ever get my act together?" she asked herself as her reflection stared back at her into those big empty eyes.

Our little heroine began to see that her life needed a change. She realized that her twenty-eight year old brother had not died in vain! His horrific death was the catalyst that she needed to finally look at what her life had truly become. And what she saw was not a pretty picture. Her reality frightened her, as did so many of life's mysteries.

"I'm just a little scared girl trapped in the body of a woman. God, please, help me!" she prayed and pleaded.

Eighteen months after her brother's funeral, God saw fit to guide this precious heroine to a land far, far away from her home, her children, her daily struggles. For the first time, she received the help that she so desperately needed!

Our girl learned that there is a better way! That life does not have to swallow her whole, if she chose to take a different path!

Yes, she stood up for herself in the midst of a group of strangers and declared proudly, "I AM A SURVIVOR!"

This once love-lost, saddened and self-pitying heroine learned that through her many adversities, she could become a power of example to others!

Her new role as victor, instead of victim, would prove satisfying, gratifying and beautifying.

Her soul needed this, her spirit craved it and her new life demanded it!

Our little heroine, was indeed a survivor, a character not unlike many other characters in the lives of other families similar to her own. Her quest to help others through her words and actions deemed admirable and cathartic.

This certainly was not the end for this rising star, but the beginning of a new and wonderful life. She would marry again, this time her knight in shining armor! He would possess all of those qualities in a man that she sought for so many years. Wit and charm, intelligence and humor. Swept off of her feet, he would carry her off into the sunset just like the characters in the many novels that she read as a child.

She is now a grandmother to two lovelt granddaughters, a joy she thought she would never know! Now she can pass on her knowledge, her life experiences and her history to her lovely little living dollies.

And, her life's work would also change.

She would work diligently and painstakingly to show others, like herself, that their lives also had meaning. That they, too, had a story to tell that could help others who found themselves in similar situations.

Our darling would work with mentally and emotionally challenged young people who struggled to end their vicious cycles of abuse and addiction. The work was definitely difficult and challenging, but no gain, no pain.

Depression threatened to swallow her alive. Yet, once again she has emerged a survivor!

And, it is all good.