
My parents met in a half-way house in Chicago. My mom suffered from a mental illness and my dad had little family support with this alcohol addiction and lack of purpose in life. My mom became pregnant with me at the half-way house, got married to my dad, and tried to make their marriage work. It wasn't long before their relationship broke down completely. My mom was pregnant with me when she was in Elgin State Mental hospital. She escaped and jumped off a bridge into a body of water while she was 7 months pregnant with me. A woman found her and she was placed in solitary confinement for the rest of her pregnancy with me. I was going to be given up for adoption at birth but my grandparents showed up to take me from birth until three years old. Life was lonely and hard without my parents. My Aunt took my brother and me in when I was 9 years old and we became a part of a blended family. Even though I was raised by my Aunt, I was in con...