YOU ARE NOT ALONE
About Hope Speaker
Ever had the, "How did I get here?!" life moment, or wrestle with, "I don't know how to do this anymore?”
Most people reach a point in their lives where they are overwhelmed with the pain and struggle they are facing,
whether by tragedy, persistent hardships, our own mistakes, or wounds from other people.
​
If you are trying to navigate a difficult trial, enduring a season of suffering, feeling alone, or are helping someone who is - this is your place.
Hi, I’m Rachel.
A survivor (and yet, still a dreamer) who feels called to boldly share with you what has gotten me through the darkness.
I am also a widowed, remarried, biogical and kinship Mama, Registered Nurse, and Lover of the Lord.
​
I write, speak, sing, and create inspirational products, in order to support, encourage, and advocate for those struggling on this beautiful, messy adventure of life.
I know what it is to suffer…to the point of losing
all hope.
My life has included:
-
Childhood abuse
-
Family addictions
-
Betrayal
-
Raising nieces & nephew as my own, as their Guardian (but without allowance of full adoption)
-
Spiritual abuse
-
The death of my young husband by suicide
-
Financial devastation
-
Widowhood & single parenting before& through the pandemic,
-
The loss my Nursing career for a time
-
Nearly passing by suicide myself
-
My own major failures
-
The battle for healing and HOPE
-
& navigating remarriage & blending of our already complex family with someone from another state
My story involves great tragedy but
my story is not A TRAGEDY.
NEITHER IS YOURS.
Why Hope Speaker Exists
Within the first year of losing my 30 year old husband, André, by suicide, I found myself in the darkest place of my life, carrying an intolerable load, and unbearable pain.
It was about 3 am on a summer night, and I had walked barefoot, miles from our home to the place he died, just as he had. I sat there, crying, for hours.
​
I felt so alone.
I believed I couldn’t keep going anymore, and I had no hope for my life. I had already decided; I was waiting there to die.
​
This, in fact, is where our stories meet - yours and mine.
It was as I lay there on the rocks, longing for relief from my pain in the darkness, that the Lord gave me a vision of Hope Speaker (though it did not yet have a name). The vision was of me, standing and speaking hope and life... to others in the same hopeless place I was.
“You have to keep going,” He told me, “There are many where you are, and there will be many more. You have to keep living. Show them how.”
​
You were the reason the Lord gave me to keep going.
​
And though, admittedly, it was not the end of my suicidal struggles, and certainly not the end of my fight for hope, it saved me that night. I got up from those rocks, and I walked home.
​
Your struggles are just as real. Your pain is just as valid.
Your story, and your life, are just as valuable.
​
Let’s journey on together.
Fighting Hopelessness
Suicide prevention is integral in our mission. Someone dies by suicide every 11 minutes in the U.S., and every 40 seconds globally, according to 2021 statistics.
​
Rachel continues to receive messages that her story and work has saved lives and prevented suicides.
​
Your investment in, and sharing of, our lifework here at Hope Speaker enables us to focus on spreading hope to those who need it.