From Powerlessness to Possibility

I became a mother at 14. For years I navigated single motherhood, chronic homelessness, and the psychological and physical aftermath of domestic violence. I did not know it then, but I had a contract problem. All I knew was that I had no power.

The last person who tried to rescue me drove me instead into a domestic violence shelter. I sat on the bottom bunk of a room I shared with a young Mexican mother and her two children — ashamed, isolated, and afraid.

That bunk bed is where I began rebuilding my life. It started with one contract review. Then a four-year degree completed in ten. Then graduating cum laude from law school. Then advanced training in contract negotiation, issue spotting, and termination.

The ultimate test came inside my own marriage. I was the runaway bride for eight years. Every Friday I fantasized about tossing my phone out the car window and driving into the sunset. I drafted divorce papers three times — and never filed them. I had already seen from the inside of family court that judges cannot end toxic cycles. Litigation often makes things worse. Especially for the kids.

So I applied what I knew about contract law to my marriage. I terminated dozens of quiet micro-agreements we had built over the years — agreements that were toxic and making us both miserable. Today my husband, our son, and I share a peaceful home. Do we still have conflict? Of course. But we now meet it with skill, not reactivity — grounded in contract law.