Episode description
Meet Leila! She spent a great deal of time recently thinking about why she does what she does. Listen here as she explains her story a bit.
I guess it all started when I was very young, and my parents divorced. It was so painful.
I was five (5), living in Iran at a time when divorce was still relatively rare. In Iran, children of divorce generally lived with their mother until they started school around age seven (7). Once they started school, primary custody transferred to the father and his family. In my case, for a variety of reasons, my father was granted primary custody of me and my younger sister well before either of us turned seven (7). This meant that we only saw our mom on weekends. During weekdays, we lived at our father’s home while our grandmother and aunt helped us with our education and daily well-being needs without any communication with our mom. I mostly remember this as a very difficult and sad time. I longed to see my mom but feared letting my family know how I felt. Speaking to my family about my pain and sadness was not an option.
In hindsight, my parents no longer living together wasn’t nearly as bad as not being able to openly and freely love both of them. Visitation, phone calls, expressing joy about the other parent was stilted. Loyalties were always tested. Without a doubt, these tense times truly shaped me and my decision to want to help families in similar situations resolve and restructure their families in a better way.
After attending college in Iran, I decided to move to the United States to pursue a legal career. I always knew my mission was to serve children and I knew a legal career in the U.S. would offer me the opportunity to use my dedication and commitment to help families. After a crash course in English (my native language is Farsi), I attended law school and passed the California State Bar in 2017. A few years into my legal career, the perfect career opportunity materialized at Family Peacemaker.
I wake up every day joyfully knowing that I am a FAMILY PEACEMAKER! I help families peacefully transition and restructure for the benefit of generations to come. I personally know the pain of divorce and parental alienation and am committed to improving divorce outcomes. I look forward to using my life experience, skills, and heart to help your family experience a more hopeful and peaceful future.
Paulette Rigo CDC, CDS
Consultant/Coach
Author
Speaker
Podcast Host
1:1 Retreats
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