Cara Brookins was left emotionally broken when her second abusive marriage ended. She got well by building her own house, which she did after seeing YouTube videos on how to do it.
The mother of four started looking for a new house in 2007 after being forced to sell the Bryant, Arkansas, home she and her soon-to-be ex shared. At the moment, though, anything the computer programmer analyst could afford was too tiny. Brookins too felt obliged to take action to bring her family back together. She admits, “But I had no idea what that should be.”
Brookins, therefore, came up with the idea to build her own house from the ground up. According to Brookins, 45, “If anyone was in our situation, they wouldn’t do this.” “No one else viewed it this way, and now that I think about it, I understand it sounds crazy.”
One acre of property cost Brookins $20,000, and she obtained a building credit for about $150,000. She then started watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do things like run a gas line, build a wall, lay a foundation, and install plumbing.
Her children, ages 2 to 17, helped her throughout the nine-month construction of the 3,500-square-foot home. At the time, Drew, who was 15 years old, helped Brookins make the preparations. Jada, who was 11 at the time, transported water from a neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She then combined the water with 80-pound sacks of concrete to create the mortar for the foundation.
It felt impossible the entire time, according to Brookins, who worked when the kids were in school. After school, Brookins drove her family to the five-mile-away construction site where she worked late into the night on the new house.
YouTube videos previously were vague and provided numerous solutions to a task. Brookins employed a part-time firefighter with building experience for $25 per hour to help with some of the more challenging tasks. She remembers, “He was a step ahead of us in knowledge.”
On March 31, 2009, Brookins and her kids moved into the five-bedroom home. She gave it the name Inkwell Manor in recognition of her desire to become a writer.
In the years afterwards, Brookins has written numerous middle grade and young adult books. She has also written a biography titled Rise: How a House Built a Family, which will be released on January 24.
Building the house helped Brookins emerge from her depression. We were ashamed that our best option was to construct our own shelter, Brookins adds. “We weren’t really proud of it,” In the end, it proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.
She says, “You can do anything you set your mind to if I, a 110 pound computer programmer, can build a complete house.” Choose one goal and stay with it. Find the big thing you want to do, move slowly in that direction, and take those who also need healing with you. That has a lot of influence.
Justin Bieber ‘haunted’ by past amid Diddy scandal, claims source
Justin Bieber has been affected by the arrest of former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and is struggling to trust those in his inner-circle, according to new reports.
RadarOnline say that the pop icon has withdrawn from the spotlight in the wake of all that has happened over the past few weeks regarding Diddy. Multiple videos of Bieber as a teen have spread around the internet following Diddy’s arrest, prompting all manner of conspiracy theories and speculation.
Music mogul Diddy, readers will surely already know, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Another wave of legal filings was announced on October 1, as per the Los Angeles Times, with it revealed that more than 100 people have planned to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and exploitation on the part of Diddy.
Justin Bieber has been affected by the arrest of former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and is struggling to trust those in his inner-circle, according to new reports.
RadarOnline say that the pop icon has withdrawn from the spotlight in the wake of all that has happened over the past few weeks regarding Diddy. Multiple videos of Bieber as a teen have spread around the internet following Diddy’s arrest, prompting all manner of conspiracy theories and speculation.
Music mogul Diddy, readers will surely already know, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Another wave of legal filings was announced on October 1, as per the Los Angeles Times, with it revealed that more than 100 people have planned to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and exploitation on the part of Diddy.
In light of Diddy’s arrest, speculation has linked a number of A-listers to the now infamous “Freak Off” parties he used to host. Not only that, but clear links have resurfaced relating to Diddy’s connection to Justin Bieber, said to have been just 15 when the pair met.
According to a troublesome claim made by RadarOnline, Bieber, now 30 years old, is “haunted” by his past.
Concerns were raised by fans recently when Bieber appeared fatigued and gaunt while stepping out for dinner with his wife Hailey. RadarOnline suggest that it was around that time old clips of Bieber and Diddy went viral.
In one of the clips in question, Diddy boasted about spending “48 hours” with Bieber, then just 15.
“He’s having 48 hours with Diddy. What we’re doing, we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream … we’re gonna go full crazy,” he said.
Now sources are suggesting that Bieber’s links to Diddy may be adversely affecting the Baby singer. One individual, said to have worked in Bieber’s team for years, told PageSix: “Do I believe he was involved in some stupid s—? Yeah.
“He was a teenager. He was the biggest pop star in the world. Everyone was worried about him, and we didn’t know if he would survive it.
“People took advantage of everything he did.”
Another source added: “Justin’s done some really crazy s— and he’s alienated the people around him. He doesn’t trust them.”
Since his arrest, Diddy has been denied bail twice, with judges citing the fact that Combs could intimidate witnesses.
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