Not Polished. Not Quiet. Not done.
I write the messy middle. I build legacy from the ashes. Welcome to my fire.
On May 23, 2010, Dr. Jay Storm saved my son’s life. Seven months later, we made it snow in his honor. That’s the night Grey Matters was born.
The Storm.
Legacy Prologue: The Promise
“I made a promise to God… I would tell the story.”
Good doesn’t mean polished. Good doesn’t mean painless. Good doesn’t mean a happy ending. Good means honest. Good means ugly when it has to be. Good means naming the truth: cancer doesn’t knock. It kicks the door down.
I made a promise to God. Not that I would fix what was broken. Not that I would wrap it in ribbons or make it look pretty for the world. My promise was simpler and heavier: I would tell the story. The good story.
This is the story of my family. Of Zachary, who carries scars on his head and strength in his body. Of Olivia, my Dolly, who wore crowns while carrying grief no one saw. Of Tyler, who taught us Uno and left us with whispers in the wind. Of me, the witness, who lit the candles and kept the promise to write it all down.
Some of us are still standing. Some of us are not. But together we are a family-ship. Battered, scarred, patched, holy. If there is light in this story, it is not because it was easy. It is because we chose to keep burning anyway.