I just finished watching The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson and felt very compelled to put pen to paper. I was feeling compelled during the entire documentary, but it was the words of her mother and father at the end that really stopped me — because I have lived them.
I have shared my story a lot over the years. It is why there is an Inspiration side to this blog. I lost Isabella at birth in the middle of a lost battle my father had with cancer and bookmarked with a cancer diagnosis for my wife. I wasn’t looking for a motto or a life’s purpose, but losing my daughter gave both of those to me.
Blessings Come From the Worst of Times.
I have lived it. So many blessings from what I hope was the darkest days of my life. Writing about my story isn’t for me. It is for you, or someone you know, that has suffered and needs to find their way back to the light.
Truthfully it is tough to relive my story, but sharing it helps honor the promise I made to Isabella to live a life that makes her proud. It gives her life meaning while hopefully helping others realize amazing things are around the corner.
This post is really not to honor Isabella but, I believe, to honor the life of Moriah Wilson.
You really should watch the documentary, currently on Netflix as of writing this post, but the quick synopsis is as follows. Moriah was an amazing athlete. She might have become a great skier, but injuries blocked that path, so she pursued a career as a gravel cyclist. She was unbelievable and, from what I saw, won every race. There are excerpts throughout the show that echo her own words about wanting to do good for the world and do right by people.
In May 2022, at the age of 25, Moriah was murdered in an act of jealousy. All that she could be was taken away because someone was jealous of a romantic relationship that actually was not even there anymore.
It is tragic. Her friend found her.
The Wilson family was devastated as this life ended so abruptly. My Dad passed away after 15 months. I had time to say goodbye.
The Wilson family did not have any of that.
Kaitlin Armstrong was found guilty and sentenced to 90 years in prison. After the sentence was read, Moriah’s mother, Karen Wilson, was allowed to say a few words to Kaitlin. She called Kaitlin a coward for not having a woman-to-woman conversation with Moriah — and this is when the words really struck me. Mrs. Wilson said that, if Kaitlin had spoken to Moriah, Moriah would have listened. She would have cared. She would have helped. If Kaitlin had spoken to Moriah, she likely would never have wanted to harm her. Moriah would still be here, and Kaitlin would not be spending her life in prison.
Those words could be meaningful to so many people. Silence can wreak havoc — and not just in cases as obvious as Moriah Wilson.
- So many people suffer silently, and in that silence see no way out other than to take their own life. If people would share their pain, I feel so confident the world would step up. It saddens me so much. I know people who have taken this path, and it leaves nothing but destruction — because those left behind would have done something.
- Marriages end because of unspoken resentments. Talking and sharing will not always help, but that path certainly leaves hope. “We need to talk” is a better first step than “Let’s get a divorce.”
- Teenagers get bullied online and don’t know how to escape. They don’t share this with their parents or a teacher or a counselor, and do not survive to ever tell them.
- People fail to share an illness, suffer in silence, and let it go until it is too late to treat.
- Parents and kids, brothers and sisters, stop speaking to each other over an argument nobody can even remember how it started. The silence continues until it is too late.
There are so many other examples. I don’t think you need any more. My plea to you is not to let silence be a destructive force in your own life, and don’t let it be that force for your friends and family. Everyone is saying the world is full of hate, but there are a lot of unbelievable people walking this planet. They can be there for you. You can be there for others.
I want to close this post with the words of Moriah’s father, Eric Wilson. At the end of the documentary he shares these words:
“I don’t know why God let this happen, but He let it happen. We trust that there’s going to be good come from it.”
His words echo my words that Blessings Come From the Worst of Times. A father lost his daughter. I am sure it was the worst day of his life losing Moriah, as it was for me losing Isabella. But he chose to believe that blessings will come — that her life would carry meaning and help others.
Karen and Eric, along with Moriah’s brother Matt, have already begun making that true. They founded the Moriah Wilson Foundation, a nonprofit that supports access to recreation, sports, and educational programs — the very causes Moriah cared about. If this post moves you, please go learn about it at moriahwilsonfoundation.org. What better way to help blessings come from the worst of times than to support what her family is building in her name.
Maybe this post is meant to help make sure good comes from their loss. Maybe this post is helping Karen and Eric honor their own promises to their daughter. I just hope it might help you. As I say in a book I am currently working on, this is just me extending my hand to you in the dark.
Don’t be silent. Ask for help. Offer help. Someone needs you.
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If you are struggling right now, please reach out. In the U.S., the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text. You are not alone, and the people in your life almost always care more than you let yourself believe.
