That couldn't be her diagnosis: clinical depression? However, it was the diagnosis to explain her frequent bouts of intense tears, overwhelming feelings of sadness and loneliness, and difficulties in functioning in her marriage and raising her daughter. Yet as she wrote her autobiography, Shattered Secrets, author Sandra Gallagher sought to explore the origins of her depression and understand what God wanted her to learn during this emotional trial. Sandra felt she was in control of her life, the middle child in a family of six children, and was determined to carve her own path in this world. Her strongest influence in embracing who she was came from her youngest brother, Dwight, who had Down syndrome but didn't let his condition dictate his life. His passing at age twenty, as well as her father's passing a few years later, led Sandra into a downward spiral and heightened her depression. A few bright moments came into her life with her marriage to husband Pat and the birth of their daughter Alex, but Sandra still struggled with her debilitating depression and inability to ask for the help she needed from others. However, little by little, Sandra realized God was trying to reveal to her His ability to help her heal from her medical condition and thrive again in life. Shattered Secrets is an engaging, heartfelt story of the challenges that arise for those enduring clinical depression and how not only does the person with depression suffer, but also those of their family and friends. Sandra voices eloquently every meaningful moment in her life, whether they were joyful events or arduous trials, to confirm the necessity to turn events over to God and let Him lead the way to recovery and the person's true purpose. Clinical depression may have had a grasp on Sandra's life for years, but through God, it no longer determines her life's path.
