We hear numerous stories of fathers leaving their wife and child behind, but have you ever heard of a wife that left her husband and child? This story, although heartbreaking, will leave a smile on your face once you hear the happy ending.
It was January of 2015 when Richard Johnson’s life changed. Richard’s daughter Persephone was born, and all seemed right in the world. Elation quickly turned to tragedy, however, when Richard’s wife ran away with Persephone to California. The reason why? Postpartum depression. In a crazy turn of events, Richard’s wife threatened to put up Persephone for adoption unless Richard immediately retrieved her.
After Richard was reunited with his daughter, he faced nothing, but uncertainty. He had never raised a child before. How could he do it as a single father? Desperate for help, Richard found it in the most unusual place — a Facebook page called Life of Dad that showcased lives of other single fathers.
With his new support group, Richard’s life has completely turned around. Recently, Richard shared his journey as a single father to Life of Dad. His story, and the response to it, is probably one of the most heartwarming things I’ve ever witnessed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
“Life of Dad,
My name is Richard Johnson, and I’m a single father to a beautiful little girl named Persephone. Her mother left about a month after she was born. We still don’t know exactly why, but we suspect postpartum depression played a part. In the first few weeks of it being just her and me, I stumbled upon your page by accident. I was so nervous and scared about being a father in general, but now I was a single father and had to fulfill two roles. I wasn’t sure I could do it.”
“I had read every ‘new parent’ book I could find and clocked in over 1,000 hours in YouTube videos from everything to braiding hair and painting nails to theories on how to deal with common parental issues. I then started to watch your page more closely and saw that there were other fathers out there who were in similar predicaments as me.”
“The page started to turn into a major confidence booster and really helped me through all of this.”
“We’re both very happy now and continue to grow together every day. She’s now 10 months, and I now get asked by my friends for parenting advice constantly. We’ve come a long way, my daughter and me, and we definitely owe part of that to this page and the people within it. So from both of us, we wanted to thank you.
Sincerely,
Persephone & Richard Johnson”
On April 2017, Richard posted an awesome update that will warm your heart.
This lovely lady is my girlfriend and Persephone[‘s] wonderful and gorgeous Mother Jennifer.
We had met at the mall while I pathetically attempted to catch her attention by asking if she could help me pick out clothes for Persephone.
I explained that I wasn’t sure what actually matched and need some pointers considering my own closet had consisted of nothing but black, faded black, and dark black clothes.
We had talked for months before I allowed her to meet Persephone. Upon meeting her Persephone had made the choice that this would be her mommy.
Persephone wasn’t a fan of women and would normally shun away from them. She had only known her bearded father and his friends.
The first time they had met Persephone had cried to be held by Jennifer.
Fast forward to today, Jennifer has helped us become the family we desperately wanted to be. Persephone knows no other woman other than her as mommy.
When she cries out for Mommy it is Jennifer that she requests.
She has taken on a part of Jennifer’s personality. It is truly amazing to see the two of them bound so strongly.
Jennifer’s family has also taken the spot of grandparents, cousins, great grand parents, etc.
They have shown her so much love and acceptance I can not begin to explain.
