A Note
From Lisa
“ I never imagined that the most difficult experiences of my life would become some of my greatest teachers.”
Before and After
For much of my life, I understood myself through the roles I occupied: mother, wife, professional, advocate, leader, founder. Like many women, I spent years caring for others, solving problems, carrying responsibilities, and doing what needed to be done. I was strong because strength was required.
Then life changed.
In July of 2012, my youngest son, Darren, was killed in a single act of street violence. He was 25 years old.
In an instant, the life I knew was divided into two parts: before and after.
The Questions That Followed
Like many people who experience profound loss, I searched for answers. I wanted to understand not only what had happened, but what happens to us when life breaks open in ways we never expected.
Why do some people find their way forward while others remain stuck? What role do forgiveness, accountability, compassion, and understanding play in our ability to keep living when the unimaginable becomes real?
“Those questions led me down a path I never expected to travel.”
What began as a deeply personal search eventually led me into restorative practices, behavioral health, criminal justice reform, public speaking, and nonprofit leadership. Along the way, I founded the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals and communities impacted by violence, incarceration, and unresolved harm.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of serving on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, speaking at conferences and universities across the country, collaborating with researchers and practitioners, and sitting in countless rooms with people whose lives have been shaped by loss, accountability, resilience, and hope.
What Grief Taught Me
But some of my most important lessons did not come from boardrooms, conference stages, or policy discussions.
They came from learning how to live with heartbreak.
They came from wrestling with questions that had no easy answers.
They came from making the deeply personal decision to forgive the young man convicted of my son's murder and later standing in a courtroom to ask a judge for mercy on his behalf.
That decision did not erase my pain. It did not change what happened. But it changed me.
It taught me that forgiveness is not something we do for other people. It is the doorway back to ourselves.
Over time, I came to understand something that continues to guide my life:
“No one's life is the sum of the worst thing they've ever done or the worst thing they've ever experienced.”
That belief has shaped the work I have built, the conversations
I am willing to have, and the way I move through the world.
Why The Healing Nexus Exists
The Healing Nexus grew out of a simple realization: the questions guiding me today are different from the ones that guided me in earlier chapters of my life.
For years, I focused on understanding trauma, loss, accountability, forgiveness, and healing. Those questions shaped both my personal journey and my professional work.
Today, I find myself curious about something broader.
I am interested in how we make meaning of our lives. How we continue growing. How we stay connected to ourselves through change. How our individual experiences shape the communities, relationships, and world around us.
The Healing Nexus was created as a home for those conversations.
This Chapter
At this stage of my life, I find myself reconnecting with parts of myself that have been waiting patiently for my attention.
After years of building organizations, leading initiatives, raising children, serving communities, and carrying responsibilities, I have begun asking different questions. Questions about freedom. About authenticity. About what it means to live fully rather than simply endure.
I am discovering that this chapter is not about becoming someone new. It is about returning to the woman I have always been beneath the expectations, obligations, and identities I carried for so long.
I am learning that growth does not belong exclusively to the young.
There is wisdom in starting over.
There is courage in letting go.
There is beauty in returning to yourself.
Whether you arrived here through the podcast, a speaking engagement, a social media post, or a recommendation from someone you trust, I'm glad you're here.
Thank you for being part of the conversation.