Finding Peace

A memoir of loss, resilience, and the quiet courage it takes to start again.

Growing up as a free-spirited tomboy in 1970s San Diego, Deborah Hardison never imagined how much life would ask of her. From family upheavals and a marriage that slowly unraveled to the deaths of her father, brother, and mother, her journey is marked by heartbreak-but also by an unwavering determination to keep moving forward.

In Finding Peace, Deborah traces her life through the moments that shaped her most:

• Childhood freedom tinged with strict expectations
• A whirlwind romance, marriage, and the joys of raising two children
• Grief that arrived too early and too often
• Three difficult years caring for her mother through dementia
• A painful collapse-losing her home, job, and sense of direction
• The choice to rise, rebuild, and find purpose again

Moving from California to Arizona and finally to Reno, Deborah discovers healing in the unexpected place where her story turns: caregiving. By helping others, she begins to mend her own wounds, rediscovering hope, belonging, and the simple joys of a life rebuilt-her grandchildren, her art, her three spirited Chihuahuas, and a renewed sense of purpose at sixty.

Honest, heartfelt, and deeply human, Finding Peace is a reminder that even after profound loss, it is possible to create a life filled with meaning, connection, and quiet joy.