Dana Renea Ward was born to Maryann Ward and Walter William in Chattanooga, TN; but moved to Waukegan, IL when she was in 1st grade. She was a little girl who had to grow up quickly because of the lifestyle she was born into. She was a Southern girl that came from a close-knit family, with two upbringings.
There was teetering from a lifestyle of hustlers who also loved hard, taught Dana survival skills that worked out for her in darker days, but also came from a Christian family with the love of God, morals, values, education, and good work ethic.
Throughout Dana's life she dealt with bullying; physical, emotional, and mental abuse; PTSD; and drug abuse. Though this is a portion of her life, she did not let it dictate how she moved forward. She was able to become a substance abuse counselor to go back into her community and help others overcome their addiction and trauma. Along with that, she has college education, was able to work and get certified in risk management, crisis prevention, mandated reporting, clients rights, and domestic violence counseling.
Dana also just recently graduated from Governor State University as a Recovery Coach. And she works as a certified volunteer for Love Inc. of Lake County, where she works in Intake Ministry, Neighbor Care Ministry, and a lead Facilitator for their New Hope Ministry Affirming Potential class.
As she was writing this book, she realized that in her loss is where she found herself. Her testimony has become her ministry in helping people from all walks of life; and wherever you find yourself LOST, you too can be FOUND. Dana provided research and personal experiences at the end of each chapter as a sense of hope and to help further educate her readers.
