When Cara Brookins divorced her violent husband, she thought she and her children needed something to help them heal from the trauma they had experienced. She said that she wanted to do something significant. She wanted to establish a lofty aim for herself and her children to demonstrate that they can achieve any objective, no matter how obviously unattainable it may seem!
That is exactly what they did. Cara and her children were forced to relocate to Arkansas after their divorce. She said that because of all they had been through, they no longer laughed together. But something happened on the way to a cottage she had leased for Thanksgiving. They discovered a tornado-damaged residence. Cara said that when she first saw the home, she felt she could reconstruct the walls if she poured her heart and soul into it.
She realized she could purchase some building materials and an acre of land if she sold her little house and took out a construction loan. Unfortunately, the funding only covered building materials, so she had to finish the job on her own. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, particularly because her children were so young; her eldest was 17 and her youngest was just two.
Her children, on the other hand, did not let her down. They gave help in whatever way they could. As a consequence, they started building their house together. They turned to YouTube for assistance since they had no clue how to do it. They gained knowledge by viewing video lessons. Because YouTube wasn’t as evolved at the time and they didn’t have smartphones to view the videos on-site, they had to watch the lessons the night before they headed to the building site, depending on their memory of how to do things right.
She knew it would be difficult, especially because she had to meet the loan’s terms while working full-time as a senior computer analyst. She was worried that her children might suddenly decide they didn’t want to help construct the home. She and her family have had no time to relax for months since they have been putting all of their efforts into creating their house.
Working together, however, not only helped them create a new house, but it also helped them heal their connections. Cara said that they had begun to speak again and that they had begun to laugh together again. A fireman assisted in the building of their house. A professional also handled their HVAC and electrical issues. And, after nine months of hard labor, their efforts were rewarded.
Through her book, “Rise,” Cara revealed her journey to getting back on her feet after all of the difficulties she has faced. The book is an encouragement to everyone who is ready to give up or has been a victim of domestic abuse. They say you never know how strong you are until you are forced to be strong. Cara showed amazing courage in pursuing what seemed to be an impossible objective. She not only built her children a new and better house, but she also taught them how to be strong.