A Bittersweet Goodbye...and A New Beginning

Well, here we are — I can hardly believe I’m writing my final post on this blog. My memoir is finished and published! After so many years of writing, revising, and reliving the memories, I’m thrilled to introduce you to my new book: A Life Half Lived: A Mother’s Memoir of Her Daughter’s Anorexia Struggle. This memoir has been a labor of love and loss and it means the world to finally share Monica’s story with you in its entirety. Before I go any further, I want to mention something very special about this blog. The first four posts were written by Monica herself just days before she passed away. I didn’t know then that they would be her last words to the world. Several months after her death, I decided to take over the blog to keep her voice alive and to continue what she started. It became my space to journal, to post photos, and to process my grief. Over the years, I shared pieces of Monica’s writings, drawings, and small treasures I found among her things. Writing here was cathartic, a way to stay connected to her and to turn my sorrow into purpose. Her posts remain the heart of this space , raw, honest, and achingly beautiful. Reading them even now feels like hearing her voice. The reason this is my last post here is because I’ll be moving my writing over to Substack, where I’ll continue to share more of Monica’s journey and the many pieces of our story that didn’t fit into the memoir. One of the final pages of the book includes a QR code leading readers to this very blog, a place filled with the words, photos, and reflections that tell the story behind the story. On Substack, I’ll be expanding on that legacy: posting stories, updates, and insights for anyone who wants to go deeper. I’ll also be making available the PowerPoint presentation I first created in 2011, one I’ve presented to high schools, colleges, mental health organizations, and community groups over the years. Soon, it will be available for anyone to view or even use in classrooms and awareness programs. My hope has always been the same, to shed light on an insidious illness that too often goes unspoken. Thank you for walking beside me on this journey, through grief, through understanding, and toward awareness. I hope you’ll join me on Substack.com as I continue to honor Monica’s life, share her story, and help others gain insight into what she endured for over fifteen years and how her light continues to guide me still. With love and gratitude, Sherri Jolie Fowler