From Darkness to Light: How I Took Back My Life

It was the fall of 1971, in a small town in the Florida Panhandle. 

My life seemed idyllic—days spent with my three sisters, our loving mother, and a close-knit family. We fished, hunted, waterskied, and cherished our time together. Faith was a central part of our lives, and the beach and bayside were the backdrop to some of my fondest memories.

Then, everything changed.

Just two months into my 7th-grade year, on October 17, 1971, my world was shattered. My mother suffered a brain aneurysm and passed away in the hospital. The loss was devastating, but what followed was even more unthinkable.

My father became an incestuous pedophile. 

It started with a hand under the covers late at night. Then, he stalked us while we showered. As we entered high school, he waited for us to come home from dates. He even tried to molest me on my wedding day.

Looking back, I see how this loss of innocence led to my struggles—promiscuity, early alcohol use, and a lifetime of self-destruction. Alcohol became my escape, a crutch that held me back from jobs, opportunities, and personal growth.

Then, I found ARCS.

I stumbled across it while surfing online. I had always been drawn to helping others and had been researching life coaching programs. But something about this one was different. 

The mission felt personal—helping survivors of abuse , addiction and PTSD.

I was skeptical at first, but I sat through the initial class. I listened as women shared their gut-wrenching stories. I signed up, thinking, I got this. Self-paced. 26 units. No problem.

I was wrong.

This program stopped me in my tracks. It forced me to see myself—to confront my journey, to love myself, to know myself. 

Each course peeled back another layer, revealing my weaknesses, my strength, my resilience. It was terrifying at times. But it was also liberating.

I began to recognize the patterns I had carried for decades. 

Before my father’s sexual abuse of us started, he told me I had to take care of my 9-year-old sister. I agreed, of course—I was a child, desperate to please. But that moment set the stage for a lifelong cycle of codependency. I carried it into my marriage, instinctively rushing to save my sisters, nieces, nephews—everyone who needed something.

For years, I believed I was helping. In reality, I was trapped.

ARCS helped me see the truth. It showed me how my so-called wisdom was often unsolicited, a defense mechanism wrapped in arrogance. It taught me to stay on my side of the sidewalk—to change myself, without demanding others change too.

For the first time, I understood the grip of addiction—not just to alcohol, but to dysfunctional patterns. I learned about recovery and about healing through my own personal faith. 

And most importantly, I met my inner child.

That changed everything.

Healing my inner child gave me the strength to put my past in perspective. I stopped reacting like the wounded little girl I once was and started making adult decisions for my life.

But ARCS is more than a program. It’s a lifeline. 

It’s a circle of non-judgmental women who support each other through healing. It’s a space to reclaim yourself, at your own pace, in your own time.

I would recommend this program to anyone carrying emotional wounds. 

Even if you never use the certification, your heart and mind will be freer in the end. And if you do choose to turn your healing into a profession, ARCS offers that path too.

But for me, the greatest gift is this: 

I am no longer trapped in my past. I am finally free.