It was a long, brutal recovery. She had to have a portion of her stomach removed and spent months on a feeding tube. But remember when I said she was a force of nature? She proved it. Today, she is back in her small house in Queens.

She moves a little slower now, and she can’t eat her famous beef stew like she used to. But just this morning, I looked out the kitchen window and saw her in the front yard. She had her gardening gloves on, stubbornly pruning her rosebushes in the early morning sun, refusing to let a monster take her life or her joy.

I almost lost her because I trusted the wrong man. Now, I trust my gut, I trust the fierce strength of my mother, and I will never again ignore the signs when something is hiding beneath the surface.