Welcome,

I'm so happy you're here

Now Available

For Terese Luikens, a picture-perfect childhood it was not. Frequent moves. An emotionally absent mother and an alcoholic father. Suicide.

The sixth of seven children, Terese grew up in an unstable and chaotic household—invisible to her mom yet cherished by her alcoholic dad, who took his own life when Terese was thirteen years old.

This heartfelt memoir documents the chain reaction of a tumultuous family history. From her stormy childhood to the far-reaching effects of her father’s suicide, Terese shares her inspiring journey to escape the shame of her past, find healing and love, learn to trust, and discover faith in a real and personal God.

Terese Luikens

Meet the Author

Writer Terese Luikens contributes articles for Mother Earth News, The Secret Place, Decision Magazine, The Upper Room, Hearts at Home, and the Epoch Times and publishes her own blog, Why Bother? A schoolteacher and a yoga instructor, Terese lives in Sandpoint, Idaho, with her husband and enjoys being mother to three grown sons and grandmother to her much-loved grandchildren.

Latest Blog Posts

Why Bother Noticing Your Close Encounters?

a couple in the forest with flowers
Encounters that we have with others, good or bad, have a way of changing the quality of our lives. Therefore, developing our discernment with regards to who and what we allow into our lives is important because whoever and whatever we let influence us, shapes our present as well our future.        Gaining…

Why Bother Ending Our Victim Thinking?

taking a risk
As a youngster, I used to frequent the Saturday afternoon shows at the theater with a girlfriend. We both loved watching the latest vampire movies. There was just enough scare in them to make us feel frightened and just enough corniness in them to make us both laugh while walking all the way back home. …

Why Bother Living in the Moment?

time, clock, legs
Back in the 1970s, when I was a teenager, I’d listen to the radio while driving Mom’s Volkswagen around town running errands for her. There were more than a few songs I liked singing along to: “Time Keeps on Slippin into the Future,” by Steve Miller, “I Got No Time,” by the Guess Who, and…

Blog Categories

An Elderly Women Eating Salad in the Kitchen
Communication
two women walking together outdoor during daytime
Relationships
Unrecognizable person taking photo of family dinner on smartphone
Family
Woman Sitting on Gray Rock Near Body of Water
Mental Health
Person Jogging
Health
selective focus photography of woman holding yellow petaled flowers
Faith