On today’s edition of Family Talk, Tom and Dena Yohe assure hurting parents of children and teens in crisis that they are not alone. This mom and dad firmly believe that no matter what happens, you shouldn’t ever give up on your kids, and always trust in God! Throughout the Yohes’ heartache, God never abandoned them. After being in a revolving door of mental health therapy and in-patient care, Tom and Dena’s daughter moved back home where her parents established a tough-love, substance-free boundary. She was a prodigal daughter with destructive behaviors, but because her parents stuck together and provided unconditional grace with unshakable faith, the family was able to survive it all and help their daughter recover.

As a child, Tom and Dena Yohe’s (pronounced “yoy” as in ‘joy’) daughter had a sensory processing disorder. In school she was bullied and, sadly, by age 12, started cutting herself. To numb her self-hatred and depression, she turned to alcohol and drugs. On today’s edition of Family Talk, the Yohes recount their heartache and desperation as their prodigal child spun out of control. Ironically, the cutting gave their daughter both a sense of release and control. Dena documents the emotional rollercoaster, the recovery, and their hope in God in her book, You’re Not Alone: Hope for Hurting Parents of Troubled Kids.