Within four years, her mother died by suicide and Ashlee spiraled into alcohol abuse and drug use. Unable to cope with her grief, Ashlee spent several years without hope and in a self-destructive cycle. But then like a light had turned on inside her, she decided that she didn’t want to lose her girlfriend, she didn’t want to stay trapped in a pattern of self-destruction, and she was ready to move on and build the life she wished for.

She rekindled her love of writing, enrolled back in school, made the President’s List, and believes words are the most therapeutic a person has. In this episode Ashlee talks about her losses and difficult years, her losses, and how she climbed her way out of her downward spiral.

Ashlee is currently a 31-year-old non-traditional student obtaining her bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She is proud to say that she is a back to back member of the President’s List with two 4.0 semesters behind her.  With her degree under her belt, she aims to educate others about grief and pain through a memoir surrounding her story of how to keep living after loss. Ashlee’s goal outside of being a published memoir author is to teach creative writing courses to help others heal themselves with the craft of expression through words.