Reaching for Beautiful - Sally McQuillen

It is a phone call no parent wants to receive. A child is missing —or even worse, presumed dead. That was the call that Sally McQuillen and her husband, Joe, received on a cold January day, nine years ago. Their 21 year old son, Christopher, and three friends, drowned in a boating accident when the canoe they were in capsized on an icy lake in Wisconsin. Sally shares her journey through that life changing experience in Reaching for Beautiful, a memoir that captures her deep love for her son, the agonizing grief of his loss and the lessons learned through a profound experience she has since learned to embrace as a gift. 

Christopher was, in Sally’s words, a “wild child.”  Prior to getting married and beginning a family, both Sally and her husband struggled with addiction, but by the time Christopher was born, both had embraced years of sobriety and believed they could protect their children from the mistakes they’d made. And yet, despite all the preparation that goes into it, parenting is often a journey without a road map. The oldest of three, Christopher struggled with ADHD and later, addiction, but years of treatment gave him a path to sobriety, so by the time he entered college, he was on his way to a brighter future. But it was not meant to be.  

“He had a couple of near death accidents, even when sober, says Sally, “So that just kind of showed me that what I’ve come to believe is true, I don’t think that he was meant to be here for longer than his 21 years.”

Sally McQuillen, LCSW, CADC, is a psychotherapist specializing in addiction, grief, and trauma recovery. Based in the Chicago area, she provides ongoing support for addiction recovery, as well as support for those recovering from the impact of a loved one’s addiction. She works with clients to find peace and healing from trauma and loss. 

You can learn more about Sally and Reaching for Beautiful here

Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Someone who is giving back to their community? Working to make our world a better place? Send an email to suzanne@suzannemaggio.com. Nominate them for a future episode of From Sparks to Light.

To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.

To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.

To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago

Follow Suzanne on Social Media

• Instagram @suzannemaggio_author
• Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author
• Threads @suzannemaggio_author