...there are certain situations that can re-open past wounds and bring old pain back to the surface. Taking care of my father in his illness is one such situation. ... my father is facing Lewy Body Dementia in a nursing home. He’s been battling this disease for about eight years, and I have gathered a few insights along the way that I would like to share.

In these recent days, I have been in Rome for Youth Jubilee events as part of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. Since 2019, I have come to Rome on pilgrimage once a year, but this year I was compelled to time my trip for the Youth Jubilee for a special reason: it was precisely in our childhood that our parents’ divorce affected us (ontologically, if not also chronologically).

The source that kept appearing when I would search for answers was Life-Giving Wounds’ blog. …As I began to read Life-Giving Wounds’ articles about the sacrament of matrimony, honoring parents, redemptive suffering, growing in virtue, relatable saints, vocations, the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, and more … hope welled up and newfound admiration was stirred in me for the Catholic Church’s firm anthropology and theology of marriage and family.

Our long and winding road walking with Christ is not easy.  He never promised that it would be.  He promised He would be with us, always. (Cf. Matthew 28:20) Saint John Paul II expresses this idea beautifully when he wrote:  “The way Jesus shows you is not easy.  Rather it is like a path winding up a mountain.  Do not lose heart!  The steeper the road, the faster it rises toward ever wider horizons!”

In 2018, we founded a peer-based outreach to help adult children of divorce — like Dan — find deeper healing for the wounds caused by their family’s breakdown. Both from Dan’s own experience and from walking alongside hundreds of adult children of divorce, we’ve seen some consistent “habits of healing” that can help people move forward from this difficult experience into greater peace and joy.