A Tapestry of Life

A Tapestry of Life is the true story of a woman who, in her quest to fulfill her dreams and have the family that she had always imagined, struggled with pain, disillusionment and heartbreak but came through it with an understanding of the rich beauty of life. Like many young girls growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, Daphne had dreams of growing up, getting married and having a family. She had well-organized plans for her future. She did not have any concept of the roadblocks that she would encounter or the challenges that she would have to meet as she journeyed toward this goal. Through a diagnosis of infertility and decisions about fertility treatments, to pursuit of adoption, to marrying and acquiring step children, to eventually achieving a pregnancy and then to gaining a daughter through an informal foster care situation she eventually created her eclectic family. Despite her dreams of having children who transitioned easily into adulthood, her children each seemed to have some struggle to overcome. The family faced challenges including developmental disabilities, cancer, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, anorexia, bi-polar disorder and teen pregnancy. Over the years Daphne learned a lot and grew stronger. This is a story about perseverance and finding peace in the unpredictable nature of this life. The author's faith matured through the challenges and struggles and became the foundation on which her family developed. She found that with faith she did not need all the answers and she did not need to know the future. She learned that the path is not always clear but we can still enjoy the journey.