My mother was the strongest woman I’ve ever seen. She always had problems with my dad because my dad had an alcohol problem. Then my dad just left to go to another state, and he left my mother alone with two kids. She didn’t have work, but she still had to pay the rent and didn’t have money to feed three mouths.

On the day my dad left, she started a new life. She started to work and I helped her to pay the rent. Then a terrible thing happened. One day she was in the shower and discovered she had a lump in her breast. She came to my city and I brought her to a doctor.

The doctor examined her and took a lot of tests and confirmed that she had breast cancer. The sky just fell on my head. I couldn’t believe this was going to happen to the most beautiful and important person in my life, my mother.

Life sometimes can be cruel, and two years later my mom died. I still can’t accept it. For me she is still alive in my memories and I’ll always love her from the bottom of my heart.

Sônia Pereira has been here for 5 years.  She is from Brazil. She works as a housecleaner. She wants to speak English fluently. She is an intermediate ESOL student at the Framingham Adult ESL Program.