Erika earned her Master’s in Social Work in 1997 and obtained her Clinical Social Work License in 2006. Before that, Erika’s passion for humanitarian work took her to orphanages and hospitals in developing countries; primarily through Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. A defining moment in Erika’s journey was meeting Mother Teresa herself in 1993 in Calcutta, India. This is Erika’s story of teaching children and young mothers self-healing through Havening.

Sometime around 11 AM on February 10, 2021, my husband of 30+ years shuffled upstairs from his basement man cave, sat on the couch next to me, and announced that he wanted a divorce. He had already consulted with a divorce attorney and the news came as a rude shock; especially as the announcement was made in front of our 25-year-old daughter, (who promptly burst into tears).

A few minutes later, he walked out of our home for good, his head bowed, averting my gaze, towing his rolling suitcase behind him with a pillow tucked under his arm.