When Sukey Forbe’s daughter, Charlotte, was just 6 years old she died from a rare genetic disorder. Suddenly, Sukey’s picture perfect life (great husband, two other beautiful children, financial security and famous family lineage) went out the window as she descended into the place many survivors do: The darkness of pain, loss, grief and I-don’t-want-to-live-anymore despair.

What makes Sukey so special is that she chose not to stay there, Instead she fought her way back to resilience, life and love for herself. She did all of this through hardcore personal practices. No magic bullet, no special pill, just the tough work of accepting who and where you are and deciding where to go from there.

Sukey’s memoir about her experience is described in the terrific book, The Angel In My Pocket. We talked about the book and her personal transformation on today’s episode of Changing Direction. In our conversation we covered:

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• learning to want to live again & how to start doing that
  
• is it ok to feel ok after trauma?
  
• giving yourself permission to heal
  
• using writing to process trauma
  

My fave quotes:

Trauma makes us more open-minded because we have to be.

I started moving in that direction [of wanting to live] and hoping that it would turn into wanting.

Sukey Forbes is the author of the best-selling THE ANGEL IN MY POCKET, Huffington Post blogger, and the founder and president is an art, antiques and interior design company.