In 2003 my 12 year old daughter died. No reason. They decided after a year of investigation she had died of Sudden Adult Death, or in kids we know it as cot death.
Myself and my family were traumatised. So traumatised, after trying to pull it all back together I tried suicide twice.
I was fortunate to meet my new partner @smuggly-sparrow. She talked me out of trying to off myself again and that her father had a shack in the middle of the mountains in West Virginia I could hide away in peace and tranquility.
So I did. I told my boss I was done. He fully understood and loaded my wallet to leave with. I left a wife, a family, a new car and a decent house with nothing more than I could pack into a rucksack on my back.
My life changed when I arrived in the States from the UK. The positives were not particularly the country or the people in general. I saw very few people in WV. But the feeling of freedom in those mountains was real and in my new relationship I began a new life.
we have moved a lot now. Lived on a small sailboat working our way down the east coast heading for the Bahamas. We moved back to the UK to live in a caravan. tHen to here in Portugal.
Every move was another step to freedom and self control of our lives. Every move has been done with the minimum of income. By minimum I mean less than is acceptable for poverty levels.
We survive because we adapt and change. We survive because we have known failure and pain and risen above it.
For now at least.