I’m Lisa—an English teacher, a writer, and a mother who found herself strapped into the most terrifying ride imaginable: my only child’s medical crisis. There were long, aching climbs of hope, sudden gut‑wrenching drops of fear, and interminable stretches where I had no control over where we were headed. When the ride came to a devastating stop, I was left at the bottom, stunned and grieving, trying to understand how to move forward.

And yet, somehow, I found myself climbing again. At 47, I felt an unexpected, persistent pull—the quiet longing for another child that refused to be silenced. With the help of miraculous science and a fierce determination, I stepped back onto the track, and just weeks before my 50th birthday, I welcomed my son Oz into the world—a fragile, radiant new beginning after the steepest fall.

My debut memoir, Steel Force, is currently in development.