My adult years and the time we spent living with A.L.S. were only a continuation of the trials and tribulations I faced in my own life. As a young girl, I was sexually assaulted for years by a family acquaintance, which had a profound impact on me as I went through my teenage years. Soon after graduating from high school, I endured a car accident that almost killed me and my little brother. Years later I had an ectopic pregnancy that almost also took my life just weeks before my marriage to Tom. Tom’s drive to become a plastic surgeon placed an enormous strain on our relationship. Ten years of infertility treatments, miscarriages, and surgeries ended up being more than our marriage could bear, and we were soon on the road to divorce. Soon thereafter came Tom’s death sentence diagnosis. Soon thereafter came Tom’s death sentence, who knew years later I’d get a breast cancer diagnosis, you can’t make this ##* T up! My desire, intention, and purpose in telling my story is simply to give hope to people who may, too, be struggling with their own “beast.” In all difficult circumstances, my truth is to show how love and God will guide us through many challenging situations, teaching us to live by faith, one day at a time, one breath at a time. Faith, hope, and love are the ingredients with which we fought our “beast.”