Is There Purpose in Life? If So, What the Heck Is Mine???

As a child staring up at the crucifix during Mass, Karen wondered how anyone could love that much. It was the beginning of a lifelong quest to understand love in all its forms--and to find her own purpose along the way.

That quest would take her through a nine-year relationship that cost her a place in her church, a devastating breakdown, two marriages, single motherhood, bipolar diagnosis, the sudden death of her husband, and a battle with stage 5 kidney disease. Through every unraveling and every rebuilding, Karen kept circling back to the same aching question: why am I still here, and what am I supposed to do with the life I've been given?

Part memoir, part heart-to-heart conversation with the reader, Is There Purpose in Life? traces Karen's imperfect, sometimes messy, always honest journey back to faith. She doesn't pretend to have all the answers--but she does share what she's learned about forgiving yourself, showing up for the people around you, and trusting that God has been present in even your lowest moments.

Written with humor, raw honesty, and hard-won wisdom, this book is for anyone who has ever wondered if their pain has a purpose, or if they even matter. Karen's answer, after a lifetime of searching: you do, and so does your story.