When I saw the look on Laura’s face the day I gave her the keys, I knew I had made the right decision.

“Is it mine, Mom?” she asked, her eyes full of tears.

“Yours and no one else’s,” I said, hugging her tight. “A place where you can start over. Where no one can ever make you feel less than you are.”

I imagined her living here peacefully, tending her garden, maybe starting the small baking business she had always dreamed of. I imagined her at peace.