Forgive Me, Love Mom: Your Daughter, Kasey Kern

Reentry Reframed

Born in a small town in Illinois to teenage parents, Kasey Kern describes her life as tumultuous and filled with chaos. Kasey’s outlook and attitude is nothing short of beautiful grace as the love she has for her family radiates throughout her story. She describes how generational trauma altered not just her life but reflects on her family tree of decades of untreated mental health concerns, substance use disorder, and abuse. While her mother was in and out of treatment and incarceration, mother and daughter remained connected through their letters and poems back and forth to one another. As Kasey reads beloved poems and letters, her mother’s signature on each one is: Forgive me, mom.