Beyond Fear: A Witness to the Power of Happiness

By Lisa Beaumont

Trauma and loss can come suddenly, and in the face of the unexpected, we may be unprepared for what comes next. For author Lisa Beaumont, catastrophic loss brought an end to life as she had known it when she discovered that her husband had taken his life by drowning in the lake behind their home.
In Beyond FearA Witness to the Power of Happiness, Lisa shares her difficult, heartfelt, and inspiring journey from a tragedy that left her homeless, jobless, and without apparent resources. Yet even more, this tragedy evoked an internal crisis that surfaced latent and painful feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness as she struggled with profound questions about her deeply held faith. Though she struggled through years of PTSD, Lisa would find a way to happiness that she did not know existedwith faith, commitment, and love leading her to the other side of devastation.
Lisas story is a chronicle of overwhelming challenges, but it is also a testimony of victory found through the restoration of a redeemed life. Happiness and peace spring from devastation in this inspirational and motivational story of miracles and triumph.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973627999

Lisa Beaumont

Lisa Beaumont struggled with suicidal ideation and PTSD following her husbands suicide. Upon deciding she would not leave a legacy of suicide for her children and grandchildren, Lisa began on a long and difficult road to rebuild her life and seek inner peace and joy. She hopes to be a force for positive change in the world, and she serves as a life coach for those wishing to create happier lives. Today Lisa lives in St. Pete Beach, Florida, where she works in real estate and teaches online classes designed to help people find their own way to a better life through faith and a connection with God.

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Copyright © 2018 Lisa Beaumont.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2798-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2800-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2799-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018905533

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/22/2018

CONTENTS

Prelude

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Chapter 2 - The Choice to Live

Chapter 3 - I Can’t Drive My Car!

Chapter 4 - I Can’t Feel Anything!

Chapter 5 - Letting Go

Chapter 6 - Resolving the Past

Chapter 7 - Finding the Gift

Chapter 8 - Transformation/Emotional Freedom

Chapter 9 - Beyond This Day

Chapter 10 - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Chapter 11 - In Conclusion

PRELUDE

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Wake up, O Intended One,

O Dreamer of the Dream.

Wake up and hear the trumpeter!

And see the subtle seams.

The veil between what is and was

And evermore will be

Illusion at its finest.

Thy death knell is the key

—Lisa Beaumont

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I placed my hands upon the keyboard, directing my thoughts toward the next chapter of the piece I was writing. Glancing at the calm water of our lake shining in the afternoon sun, I determined to allow the words to flow through my waiting mind. What I wrote had to be inspired, straight from the heart. It’s the way I did everything: straight from the heart.

My fingers began to move in a practiced way. They moved quickly and deftly. Suddenly, they seemed to act independently, zooming from word to word. When their flurry was finished, I looked up to see the words of a magnificent poem floating on the page.

My heart seemed to stop, and I was breathless as I read the beautiful words I had just written. They had literally bypassed my mind—written by pure inspiration. It was clear I had just penned a message to myself!

But I didn’t understand the words, the message being cloaked in the mystery of an unenlightened soul. I could not have known how the light would come. The intention of the words would become clear as events I could not have imagined tore into my life, bringing with them the cleansing touch of fire like a torch that brightened every dark spot within myself.

I am a spiritual person—not religious, I always say, but deeply spiritual. From childhood, there has been a quality to my life that seemed different. At first, I just felt odd, a little weird. There was an intensity directed toward matters of faith that most seemed not to have. I longed to know my connection to God.

I wept with compassion for a world I didn’t know and wished for answers to our common plights. My greatest desire has always been to be of service, to bring something valuable and useful to mankind. My heart beats in constant rhythm to the same question: How can I help?

The poem I had just written, clearly flowing from subconscious wisdom, was answering my lifelong question. Even as I read the words, marveling at how they seemed to suddenly appear on the page, I vaguely understood the challenge they were presenting.

Thy death knell is the key. I knew that no matter what the challenge might be, I would accept it. I had waited too long for a chance to be of service.

Answers to our deepest questions seldom come as we think they will. It seems I’ve always been looking in the wrong direction when they come up from nowhere, taking me by surprise and leading me, inevitably, down a new path.

The poem I had inexplicably written sent a clear warning of something dramatic on the horizon. I could not have imagined that the answer to the most perplexing question in my life would soon come, suddenly, and in the most shocking way.

CHAPTER 1

THE BEGINNING

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What we think, we become.

—Buddha

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T his is a story that spans a lifetime, and it is somehow encapsulated in the years of my life with Peter—and the time since his death. I am telling it from memories that are etched in my mind. Like words written in the face of a mountain of stone, they are