Julie
Julie had always been ‘Daddy’s girl.’ She was overwhelmed with grief when her father was killed in Iraq. Unable to deal with it, Julie sought acceptance from teens that were poor influences. Worse, she took out her anger on her mom, yelling and making demands.  

Julie struggled at Quakerdale in the beginning, but with help she began to realize her poor choices were hurting herself and others. Living in the cottage she met girls who didn’t even know their birth mothers and saw that their feelings of loss were severe, too.  

Julie talked about her feelings of abandonment and loss with the staff and, eventually, to her mother. Separation from her mom made her realize how lucky she was to have a caring mom in her life. Julie started to change her selfish and hurtful behaviors and feel empathy for others.

“My Dad didn’t choose to leave me,” Julie said. “I can’t change that I’ve lost him, but the way I was going I was going to lose my Mom, too.” Julie and her mother healed their relationship, and she is home again. The pain from losing her dad won’t go away, but she accepted help to deal with it. Julie’s dad would be pleased that she can live a happy and productive life.