Teressa's Story: Stronger Than I Was Before

I am a Beautiful Disaster because I have been through a lot of trauma in my life, but I am still standing, learning, and growing, and BEAUTIFUL, inside and out.

I identified as a Beautiful Disaster long before I knew about the brand:

My father, a highway patrolman, was murdered when I was 3. My stepfather sexually abused me for over 10 years. My mother was an alcoholic and a pathological liar.

I married my husband because he was safe. He could be very controlling, but I was timid and fearful, so his domineering behavior was comforting for a while. We started a business which was extremely successful for the first few years, but failed after the economy crashed in 2008.

We lost our house. Our youngest son, who already had extreme anxiety, developed drug and alcohol addictions. Then, my daughter came out as a transwoman. My son became verbally abusive, but my husband kept inviting him back into the house. I had a good job, but my husband, who had not worked steadily since our business closed, decided we were moving to another state, to live with his elderly parents.

We were only supposed to stay two months, but I ended up staying 5 ½ years, and my husband is still there. In addition, on the day the above picture was taken, I was working a job I hated, while my husband was going to school to be a pilot (hasn’t happened yet), where he fell in love with a woman who not only was the same age as our daughter, but also had no romantic interest in him. And he gaslit me about it for months. A few months later, I was fired from my job. I was at rock bottom.

I spent the next few months traveling from my brother’s house to one friend’s house to another, soul searching. I had always been afraid of going to college. But my husband was in college, and I knew I could do at least as well as he did. Also, I ran the figures and found I would be able to cover our expenses with student loans and grants. So, I took the plunge and enrolled at community college. Two years later, I transferred to university. Last month I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I moved out of my in-laws’ house nine months ago and have had my own apartment for five months. I currently work part-time, but I am applying like crazy for jobs I would not have qualified for before my degree. I can picture a future that looks good, and I am making it happen!

My favorite items from Beautiful Disaster are the Phoenix items, because I was nearly dead with grief and depression, and I have come back, more beautiful and stronger than I was before!