Lisa entered the world as Kimberly Lynn Self and was surrendered for adoption as an infant. She grew up deeply loved while carrying lifelong questions about identity and belonging. Alcohol became an early source of confidence and connection, then a source of secrecy, harm, and shame.

“Healing does not always come from being chosen by others, but from finally choosing ourselves.”

After seventeen years of sobriety, loneliness and disconnection contributed to a relapse. In 2013 she chose recovery again — with greater honesty, support, and accountability.

Lisa writing in a journal, seated in a blue gingham armchair
She rebuilt her health and created her blog, Life With Lisa, where she has written for more than a decade about faith, grief, and the slow work of becoming.

At fifty-six she returned to college. In 2025 she graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a degree in Kinesiology and a concentration in Health Promotion and Wellness, before turning sixty. But before Steven could see her cross that finish line, Lisa lost the man who had chosen and loved her for thirty-eight years. He died unexpectedly in February 2025.

“I know… he still believes in me. And so do I.”

The book

Her debut memoir, Chosen, explores adoption, addiction and lasting recovery, faith, reinvention, and grief. It is an invitation to release the labels that keep us small and take the next courageous step toward the person we are still becoming. About the book.

“I was chosen. I survived. I healed. And now I get to choose what comes next.”