{"id":9693,"date":"2025-08-02T10:30:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T10:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693"},"modified":"2025-08-02T10:30:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T10:30:43","slug":"her-husband-was-abusive-so-she-took-her-children-and-ran-away-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693","title":{"rendered":"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"100\" data-end=\"452\">They say, \u201cWhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade,\u201d and few embody that spirit more powerfully than Cara Brookins. After escaping a violent marriage, Cara\u2014a mother of five\u2014made the bold decision to start fresh by building her own home from the ground up. She had little experience, but a fierce determination to create a safe space for her children.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"454\" data-end=\"809\">In 2007, unable to afford a home big enough for her family, Cara came up with an unconventional solution: build one herself. A computer programmer by profession, she turned to YouTube tutorials and self-drawn construction plans to learn everything from plumbing to laying a foundation. With no prior experience, it was a daunting task, but she pressed on.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/boreddaddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2-min-70.jpeg\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"811\" data-end=\"1143\">Cara secured a $150,000 construction loan and bought a one-acre plot of land for $20,000. Her children, ranging in age from 2 to 17, joined in the effort. Eleven-year-old Jada hauled water from a neighbor\u2019s pond to mix concrete, while her teenage son Drew helped design the house plans. Each day after school, they worked as a team.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/boreddaddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/5-min-21.jpeg\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1145\" data-end=\"1481\">To assist with more technical tasks, Cara hired a part-time firefighter for $25 an hour\u2014someone just a step ahead of them in building knowledge. The family steadily made progress and, on March 31, 2009, they moved into the completed 3,500-square-foot home, which they named \u201cInkwell Manor,\u201d reflecting Cara\u2019s dream of becoming a writer.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/boreddaddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/6-min-17.jpeg\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1483\" data-end=\"1738\">Looking back, Cara admits they were initially embarrassed by their circumstances. Yet, building their own home turned out to be one of the most empowering choices she ever made. \u201cIf I can build a whole house,\u201d she said, \u201canyone can achieve something big.\u201d<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/boreddaddy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/8-min-7.jpeg\" data-ll-status=\"loaded\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1740\" data-end=\"1871\">Her advice? Start small, stay focused, and bring others on the healing journey. The power to change your life is in your own hands.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They say, \u201cWhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade,\u201d and few embody that spirit more powerfully than Cara Brookins. After escaping a violent marriage, Cara\u2014a mother of&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They say, \u201cWhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade,\u201d and few embody that spirit more powerfully than Cara Brookins. After escaping a violent marriage, Cara\u2014a mother of...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"magazine24\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-02T10:30:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-02T10:30:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"344\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"430\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sk.Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sk.Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693\",\"name\":\"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-02T10:30:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-02T10:30:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/ce7debb966dda59a6da4ebe878923a74\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg\",\"width\":344,\"height\":430},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/\",\"name\":\"magazine24\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/ce7debb966dda59a6da4ebe878923a74\",\"name\":\"Sk.Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de3e79686b16c005ec69d61203c42cbc56db9e6a47269911d3b26b6f2d704973?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de3e79686b16c005ec69d61203c42cbc56db9e6a47269911d3b26b6f2d704973?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sk.Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24","og_description":"They say, \u201cWhen life gives you lemons, make lemonade,\u201d and few embody that spirit more powerfully than Cara Brookins. After escaping a violent marriage, Cara\u2014a mother of...","og_url":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693","og_site_name":"magazine24","article_published_time":"2025-08-02T10:30:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-02T10:30:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":344,"height":430,"url":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sk.Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sk.Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693","url":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693","name":"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home - magazine24","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-02T10:30:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-02T10:30:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/ce7debb966dda59a6da4ebe878923a74"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/525457870_122229653678114179_8734969866225112516_n.jpg","width":344,"height":430},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=9693#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Her husband was abusive, so she took her children and ran away from home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#website","url":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/","name":"magazine24","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/ce7debb966dda59a6da4ebe878923a74","name":"Sk.Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/negatius.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de3e79686b16c005ec69d61203c42cbc56db9e6a47269911d3b26b6f2d704973?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de3e79686b16c005ec69d61203c42cbc56db9e6a47269911d3b26b6f2d704973?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sk.Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9694,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9693\/revisions\/9694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}