Gutsy Goddess—Lizbeth

"Together we are stronger." Lizbeth Meredith is the 2017 winner of the AWAIC Tribute Award.

When I was a 29-year-old single mom of two little daughters, they were kidnapped by their non-custodial father and taken out of the country. I was a battered women’s advocate making $10 an hour and facing a $100,000 problem. The challenge of my life time was reaching out for support and navigating the rough terrain to bring my little girls back home to America.

I’ve learned that people are inspired to provide help and support when they see another person working to improve her circumstances. I was the human Habitat for Humanity, working hard to make big changes in my life and break out of inter-generational patterns domestic violence.  Only when others saw my efforts did they reached out to help, and I was very fortunate indeed.

While it is humbling to accept help, we are much stronger together than when isolated. Never be shy to accept help. If you need help with parenting, take parenting classes. If you need some counseling, get it. If substance abuse is an impediment, find help. There is no shame in accessing resources. It’s unfortunately very difficult to break patterns of dysfunction that we’ve inherited from her family. It’s easy to repeat them, despite our promises to ourselves to be different. But it’s absolutely possible, and more likely when we find a tribe of people wanting to make the same improvements.

Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis—Tribute Award

The incredible result was that just over two years later, I was able to bring my adorable and very traumatized little daughters home to America. And that’s when the real work began.

Publishing my memoir reinforced that we all have a story worth sharing. By sharing mine, it gave the green light to other women to share theirs. And that is powerful!

We hope you will join the conversation. If you have comments for Lizbeth, a story you’re willing to share, or inspiration for others, we would love to hear from you below. You never know who you might inspire or where it might lead.

For more on Lizbeth Meredith please click here.

For Lizbeth Meredith’s book, Pieces of Me, please click here.

For more Gutsy Goddesses please click here.

19 Comments

  1. Wow … very powerful story! Kudos to you, Lizbeth. Good on you!

  2. Such a trauma for the little girls and the mother!! Glad to know Lizbeth and her daughters are together.

    • admin_laughingatthesky October 11, 2017 at 6:40 pm

      Thanks for your comment Inderpreet. I know from your tweets and posts that you are a champion of courage.

  3. Thank you Dennis and Inderpreet! We-my daughters and I- are among the fortunate in that we have been reunited. It was a long journey filled with many amazing people that helped .💐

  4. What an inspiring story that could have ended a whole lot differently. So glad, Lizbeth, that you were able to get your daughters back, safe and sound.

    • admin_laughingatthesky October 11, 2017 at 6:42 pm

      Thanks for your comment Lynda. I to am inspired and glad to learn of the final outcome. I can’t imagine the horrors of losing a child.

  5. Yes, we must not shy away from taking help, after all we cant do/learn everything on our own. Thanks for sharing Lizbeth’s inspiring story. Wishing her and her daughters the very best in life!

  6. This sounds horrifying! Your courage knows no bounds. More power to Lizbeth and her Gutsy Goddess journey with her daughters.

    • admin_laughingatthesky October 13, 2017 at 10:40 am

      Aarti thanks so much for joining the conversations! Lizbeth is one brave woman and it is heartwarming to see her rewarded for her great work helping women.

  7. This is so heart touching! Being a writer, I know how difficult it’s to create a memoir. You pour your heart out to strangers. THIS is very brave of you. Kudos.

  8. admin_laughingatthesky October 15, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Rabina, thanks so much for your comment. I too am a memoir writer and I believe by sharing our stories with others in an inspiring and empowering way we can help others to not feel alone. I am honored to have Lizbeth share her story and her current achievements. What do you write?

  9. So glad you got your daughters back though I cant imagine how tough life would have seemed and what struggles you must have endured in that period. It feels good ot know that you got helping hands when you needed them!

    • admin_laughingatthesky October 23, 2017 at 9:41 am

      Shalini, thank you for commenting. I remember when her story was in the news many years ago. I too am grateful to hear of the positive outcome and to know she had a “community” of help. I know many of us struggle to reach out for help, myself included, yet it is so important. Anyway, I hope you will continue to visit the site. Nice to meet you and to have you join the conversation. Heidi

    • Thank you Shalini. It truly is amazing to consider all of the people that helped and who asked nothing in return. Something I will never forget. 💕

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