The Best I Can Do

Cheryl and Tom were college sweethearts who married after they graduated and settled in Seattle. For nine years, their lives were like an extended honeymoon. Then Tom's personality began to change as his sales job at a Fortune 500 company grew more stressful. He began fearing someone was following him. At first, his episodes were brief, so Cheryl assumed each one was a passing phase. But as the stress increased, so did his paranoia.Then Tom was laid off from his job and decided to change careers to finance, which required a move to New York City. After a year of struggling with rejections, he gave up. Paranoia consumed his life, and he lost trust in everyone. Cheryl tried to get help for him but discovered there was nothing she could do. Their marriage unraveled. Tom vanished and resurfaced months later, homeless.Cheryl also became homeless. While living in her car, she struggled with guilt from not being able to help Tom while working two jobs to pay off bills she didn't know about until after the marriage shattered. She learned how to cope and survive through strength, resiliency, and her spiritual connection with nature.