WHAT SUICIDE LEFT BEHIND: Her Absence, My Becoming: Surviving the Loss of My Mother

A story of loss, a journey of forgiveness, and the ultimate triumph of a cycle-breaker.Alondra’s life was forever changed by the tragic loss of her sister, Vivianette, and the slow, agonizing decline of her mother—a woman struggling with undiagnosed schizophrenia in a world that offered her no help. Forced to navigate a childhood defined by grief and instability, Alondra was eventually moved to the United States, leaving behind the home she knew and the family members who had truly wanted to raise her.In this raw and unflinching memoir, Alondra recounts the years she spent searching for love in the wrong places, leading her through a struggle with domestic violence and the crushing weight of her own mental health diagnosis. But this is not a story of victimhood; it is a story of radical reclamation.By choosing to break the cycles of pain that plagued her family, Alondra transforms her trauma into a map for her own survival. From the strength it took to raise her children while building an LLC to the emotional catharsis of placing a headstone on her mother’s grave, she proves that while we cannot always choose the circumstances we are born into, we have the power to define how our story ends.This is a testament to the power of forgiveness, the importance of maternal legacy, and the unshakable truth that no matter how much life throws at you, you have the power to turn it around. Read more