It's a tragedy that has haunted an Aylmer, Ont. mother for years, but now she’s taking the loss of one her children and finding ways to reach out to others through writing.
It was the summer of 2012 when Helen Klassen’s life took a tragic turn while camping with her husband and four children.
“We just did what we always do...have a huge breakfast and a bonfire and whatnot and we were just getting ready to go to the beach,” she says.
That's when it all went wrong. Her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Charity was playing when she crossed a laneway at the camp and was run over by a passing vehicle, right in front of her mother and two brothers.
Following the death of her daughter, Klassen ended up in the hospital suffering from acute psychosis, a reaction to the tragedy. She struggled in and out of mental health care for three years.
It was when Klassen started writing about what happened that summer day that she found comfort and healing.
She has published four books since she started writing therapeutically more than two years ago. The latest is a compilation of three of her stories as well as some from her own personal life.
“It’s just helped me heal by putting pen to paper and has been therapeutic for me to write my thoughts down and get it off my chest,” says Klassen.
All while keeping her daughter Charity’s spirit alive
“She held up to her name. Her name means love and she just had so much unconditional love for all of us...and I just miss her hugs and her kiss.”
