*Help Me Lay My Daughter to Rest*

  My name is Alicia, and I am writing this through tears I never thought I would have to cry.

  My daughter and I were estranged for 14 years. Fourteen years of birthdays missed, of holidays spent wondering where she was, of unanswered messages and unreturned calls.

  I tried endlessly to find her and to make amends. I never stopped loving her, not for a single day. Every year I hoped this would be the year she would come home, or at least let me tell her how sorry I was, and how much I loved her.

  Instead, I got the call no mother should ever get.

  It was from the Hennepin County Examiner's Office. My beautiful girl was gone. She died from cirrhosis of the liver from drinking.

  I am just beside myself with sadness. I never even knew she had a drinking problem. I didn't know she was so sad, and lonely. Now I'll never get to reconcile.

  There is no way to describe what it feels like to lose a child you spent 14 years trying to find, only to find out you are too late.

*Who the funds are for:*
  These funds are for my daughter, and for me as her mother, so I can give her the dignified goodbye she deserves.

*What the funds will be used for:*
  The money will go directly to her funeral costs — cremation, transportation, a simple urn, a small memorial service, and the fees to bring her home from the examiner's office. I don't want anything fancy. I just want to lay her to rest with love and respect, not as a stranger, but as her mother.

*How soon I need the money:*
  I need the money as soon as possible — within the next few days. The examiner's office can only hold her for a short time, and the funeral home needs payment before they can move forward. Every day that passes without being able to claim her breaks my heart all over again.

*What your support will mean to me:*
  I am in between jobs and I have no money to cover this on my own. Your support will mean that I don't have to leave my daughter alone. It will mean I get to say goodbye. It will mean I get to do one last loving thing for her after 14 years of not being able to.

  I will be forever grateful for any amount — $5, $10, $20, whatever you can give. And if you can't donate, please share this. Please keep her in your thoughts.

  If you have ever loved someone you couldn't reach, if you have ever lost someone too soon, if you have ever wished for one more chance to say "I'm sorry, I love you" — please, if you can, help me give my daughter that final act of love.

  Thank you for reading her story. Thank you for helping a grieving mother say goodbye. I am so, so grateful.

With all my love,
Alicia