Read Behind the Educator — Advance Copy

This is a memoir about what happens when a system discards the people who give it everything — and what it costs the family left behind.

My former husband spent his career as a dedicated school administrator in California's public schools. What I believe were abuses of administrative power ultimately derailed his career, his mental health, and our marriage. I watched it happen. I wrote it down. And after years of keeping our story private, I decided the silence wasn't worth it anymore.

Behind the Educator is about institutional failure. It's about mental health and addiction and the quiet devastation of loving someone who is losing themselves. It's about codependency, and grief, and what it finally takes to choose yourself. And it's about finding light on the other side of all of it.

A journalism teacher who knew my former husband personally, said after reading it: "It's a hard read — harder, I think, if you know the main characters. It's going to stick with me for a long time. It's an important story."

If any part of this resonates with your work or your audience, I'd be honored to have you read it.