“Lyric”.. (definintion): “expressing emotion, a melody” - perfectly stated, actually.

This girl. WOW! The minute I heard her speak, I knew she had an incredible story to tell. As soon as I heard it, I was captivated with emotion. Fire. Fighter. Fierce. Freedom. Forgiveness. A fucking hero. Just some of the F words that come to mind when I think of her.

Lyric Hydiea Farmer, born October 1, 1997, age 21

Already, this girl has lived more life than you could even imagine living, she has also endured things I would never want you to know or experience. Her story is deep and wide… and powerful. To have lived all that she has and come out the other side with this amazing, incredible heart to simply be the difference touches me to the core of my being.

Sitting and listening to her tell me the details of her life, her story, was simply an honor.. it was mind blowing, heartbreaking, and awe inspiring. The world is cruel, it can wreck us in ways that it never should. There are parts of it that we choose and there are parts completely out of our control. None of it is truly fair.. but life was never promised to be fair, right? In the end the choices we make with how we pick up the pieces of our story are what truly matter, what becomes truly inspiring.

Lyric is the oldest of 7 children on her mothers side (she also has 5 siblings on her fathers side.) Due to drug use and physical and emotional abuse in the home, Lyric and her siblings were placed in the foster care system when she was 8 years old, she remained in the system until she was 18 and aged out of the program. She endured many failed homes, 2 failed adoptions and the children were finally separated at one point in the process. During this time there was limited periodic time with her mother. Growing up she missed a lot of school and at the age of 16 she dropped out of high school. Feeling lost, unloved and abandoned, she turned to the life that had stolen her mother from her and became a part of it.. it was her way of relating to her mother and feeling connected to her. Heroin was the first drug she tried. She was 16 years old. This quickly led to a lifestyle of living on the streets, drinking, meth and heroin use, boosting, and stealing cars. With this came at least 30 stays in jail, burglary 1, 3 unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and 9 possession charges. Then, there were the guys who set her up with Back Page.. have you heard of that? I had not. It’s a trafficking sight. She was given a profile with the name Blazian Barbie, a burner phone and contacts would send her to the hotels she needed to be at.

*I need to pause here…. In your addiction, you are desperate and you will do things you never thought you would, you simply come to a point where you will do whatever it takes to feed your need. At this point in our conversation I asked Lyric if she was trafficked (not knowing anything about Back Page) she simply said she didn’t know how to answer that because, are you if you are willing (to feed your habit)… Her innocence in trying to answer honestly and take accountability about did my heart in. I simply answered, “you were most certainly trafficked.” My heart hurt so deeply for her in that moment, tears came, and I am still so angry that this happens to young girls. What a sick world it is, how horrific it is to steal a girls innocence…. It’s maddening.

At 18 years old she overdosed for the first time at the Red Carpet Inn. Her “friends” left her in the shower with the needle still in her arm, they also stole all her things. When she came to, she was very aware that she was dry and not wet from the water, which meant that they had not even tried to revive her. At 18 she was also busted for the first time on possession charges, it was the path of this lifestyle that led her to facing 38 months in prison. At this time she was offered ROC court (Recovery Opportunity Court) but because of ego and feeling like she didn’t deserve the opportunity, she turned it down. It was during this season that Tony and Stephanie Mendenhall entered her life (if you don’t know them, you are missing out and they certainly deserve a story of their own.) One day after Lyrics overdose, Stephanie convinced her to go to rehab. She went to Best Care Recovery in Klamath Falls, Oregon for 2 months. After this she came home to stay with Tony and Stephanie for 2 weeks… this turned into 2 months before getting a room at the Oxford house (an independent recovery house) in Medford, Oregon. During this time, she got her first job at Jack In The Box and decided she would enter ROC court. On October 12, 2017 eight months into her stay at the Oxford house, she was sentenced to 2 weeks in jail in Salem, Oregon for a warrant she had. She ended up losing her job because of it but she came out warrant free. She found a job at McGrath’s fish house where she went from dishwasher to line cook to kitchen manager. After 14 months of living at the Oxford house, in August of2018, she moved out and into her own house with her girlfriend, Angelina and on June 21, 2019 she successfully graduated ROC court. It was truly so beautiful to hear her talk about the little things, the things we take for granted.. like paying your own rent, owning your own car, having a credit card and a bank account, and managing your job. She is so proud that she has accomplished these things on her own but she is so humble when talking about it.

Let her talk about her future, her hopes and her dreams, her desire to influence others and you will walk away a different person. I did. I do this because I want them to have a voice, I want people to know who they truly are, not just what they have done. I want them to know that their story serves a purpose. I walk away with my heart full, knowing that this is not just for them but for me and you also. It’s a reminder of why we should seek to understand and know before casting judgement, assumptions, or opinions. There are always layers of life that lead to the surface of what people only want to see and underneath is a person who just wants to be loved, understood, and given a chance to start again.

The story is mind blowing, heartbreaking, and awe inspiring but to hear her heart for the future is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. One of my most favorite statements I’ve heard her say is, “don’t look down on me because of my addiction”… seriously, so much truth! This girl has overcome so much, what a testimony she is! In closing, she lit up as she spoke about what that all looks like.. she is fully aware of the obstacles that come with recovery, to stay focused and not get lazy, to remember her self worth, self love, and self respect, to be reminded that you are always one step away from the edge. She draws her strength in giving back.. by helping and encouraging others to stay clean, to be a safe place to go, to make solid connections with others, to give her time where it is needed for others in recovery. She knows it’s gonna be hard but these are her reasons why and I think that is more amazing than I could ever put words to!

I am honored and blessed to write these words, Lyric is a miracle who has endured and overcame and she is only 21 years old. That alone is incredible. To not know her story would be such a loss to a world that is dying to know that there is hope. She is the face of addiction, she is the face of choosing a way out, she is the face of recovery. See her. know her journey. Be in her corner and cheer her on. One day at a time, one person at the right time… community and love… and it all falls into place.

You Are Lovely… don’t believe the lie

*A special thanks to Reclaiming Lives/Recovery Cafe and GypsyJane Photography