LISA's STORY

I was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. I grew up in a pretty normal family and had a pretty normal life. I worked as a hairstylist and freelance photographer for years until I felt like something was missing. The idea for LARK came to me in a meditation and I started to roll with it. It was a distraction from life at that time and gave me something to throw myself into. About that same time, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. This was the 4th type of cancer she had, and had been battling it for years beforehand.

She was the bravest person that I have ever known. She went through countless rounds of chemo and radiation. Had multiple surgeries including a double mastectomy. She fought each day for every breath of life that she could get. She wanted every minute of it no matter how painful it was. She loved us and especially my son fiercely. I don't even think I understood how fierce it was until she got sick. She was the leader of our family. She took care of everyone and when she was gone, things started to unravel. My grandfather passed away 3 months later, and then we suffered another traumatic loss of a few months after that. I went from having this big close family to feeling like I had no one. I felt like a failure at everything and I was completely overwhelmed being a caretaker for my toddler and my grandmother. As hard and as terrible as it was, I'm proud of myself for pushing through it. To do what needed to be done even when I felt like I couldn't anymore.