Like many women, Ive faced adversities in my life: A womanizing father who was emotionally unavailable and died when I was 12; a mother who is mentally unstable and for whom I became the parent and she became the daughter, and a husband who died when I was 37. For most of us, serious life events empower and make us more resilient. Our survivor instincts kick in, and we find our way through the fog and somehow, move forward with our lives.