She is not gone.
She never was.

My son Isaiah lived boldly and unapologetically, in a way most of us only wish we could.

Since he was a little boy, he wanted to jump out of planes. I thought he might grow out of it. He never did. I even made him go to college first, for one full year, hoping he might change his mind. He went. He finished the year. Then he came home and told me he still wanted the military. So I took him to sign up myself.

That was Isaiah. Once he set his heart on something, nothing could stop him. In the Army, he finally did it. He jumped out into open sky, again and again, exactly like he had always dreamed.

I looked up to him. To his courage, and most of all to his optimism. He inspired me while he was here, and he inspires me still. Although his life was far too short, the way he lived is the reason this exists.

Dare to Live Collective is for women who are done shrinking. These journals are how I found my way back, and how you might find yours.

Shawn Gregoire

Founder