My Story: From Trauma to Transformation
My life changed over five dollars.
It was a warm July evening in 1997. I was nine years old, heading to the grocery store with my mother and sisters so we could have cereal the next morning. It was supposed to be a routine trip—a moment of everyday life. But that night, everything shifted.
As we sat in the car preparing to leave, a young man approached the driver’s side window, pulled out a gun, and demanded money. I was frozen in the front seat. My older sister, only eleven, pleaded for our lives. My baby sister sat silently behind me, still and unaware of what would come next. My mother, calm but powerless, responded, “Baby, all I have is five dollars.” And then—he pulled the trigger.
The bullet didn't just take my mother’s life—it shattered the innocence of my childhood, fractured my sense of safety, and burned into me an unshakable truth: money holds the power to destroy or to heal.
That moment has never left me. For years, I carried trauma in my body, in my mind, in silence. But I also carried a question that would one day become my life’s work: What happens when our pain, our poverty, and our mental health collide?
Through time, grief, and healing, I transformed my trauma into purpose. I became a Licensed Professional Counselor, committed to helping others navigate their own complex paths toward healing. In that process, I discovered something deeper: the stories we hold about money—our fears, our shame, our scarcity—are often rooted in unprocessed trauma. And if we don’t address both, we stay stuck in survival.
Today, I am the founder of Giving Grace Counseling, a trauma-informed private practice where I help individuals break cycles of generational trauma and financial pain. I also serve as the Assistant Clinical Director at Agnes Scott College, providing leadership in campus mental health and emotional wellness. I’m currently pursuing certification as a Financial Therapist to further bridge the critical gap between emotional and financial healing.
My story has come full circle. What began with a tragic loss rooted in scarcity has become a mission grounded in resilience, empathy, and empowerment. I now sit with others as they tell their stories—stories that often begin, like mine, with silence and fear—but that, through grace and support, end in healing and transformation.
