Lisa A. Sommer

I was born in 1982 at a naval base in Portsmouth, Virginia. When I was young, my parents were professional musicians, and as a result we traveled within the United States a lot; however, I now call Las Vegas, Nevada and Sandpoint, Idaho my "home-towns". At the age of 16, I left high-school, received my G.E.D. to attend college at North Idaho College in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and being wild hearted enlisted with the U.S. Army in June of 2000 at the age of 17. Not long after, I voluntarily separated and met my first husband in May of 2001. After that, I gave birth to my daughter in 2002. Then, suddenly, a crazy-flurry of domestic violence, hard-drug lifestyle and a subsequent journey to educate myself and find basic security for my child led me back to college in 2005 while living with family in Tempe, Arizona.

That same year, I returned to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to home and to attend school at Spokane Community College. As an honors student there, I finally found the strength to set some boundaries for myself and successfully filed for divorce pro se, which had been a long time coming with us spending very little time actually living together peacefully during our "marriage". It would not be long before I met a similar minded man and I gave birth to a second child in a peaceful birthing center water birth in late 2007. I would call our home a non-traditional household with both of us being first-generation, multi-cultural, liberals and college students currently working towards graduate school. I am currently employed part-time as a Registered Nurses Aide in an Adult Family Home where I care for developmentally disabled, mentally ill and elderly persons.

I have a variety of interests, love to write about all of them and strive to produce pieces that are both informative as well as thought provoking. I have been busy throughout my lifetime and have a lot of experience to share with those who will listen.

Sincerely,

Lisa A. Sommer