In loving memory of Terri Brown
Published March 17, 2026
Terri Brown, a beloved friend and coach, passed away Sunday, Jan. 11. She had been battling cancer since 2024 after being in remission for three years.
We’ve been so touched by the outpouring of support from our community. So many people told us how Terri changed their lives.
It’s hard to do justice to Terri’s story and her life’s work as a coach. We will continue to do our best to honor her legacy and keep her spirit with us.
Terri always said Face It TOGETHER was her family. She called Carlos, her former coaching member and now a peer coach himself, her “surrogate grandson.” He gave a truly beautiful speech at her celebration of life, which we’re sharing here as a tribute.
'She had a magic and a superpower’
No matter what I say, I won't ever find all of the words to describe how remarkable Terri is and what an amazing individual she was.
Tomorrow is February 1st. That will mark seven years since I first stepped through the doors of Face It TOGETHER and met Terri.
Walking through those doors was one of the greatest blessings of my life. And then meeting Terri was an even grander blessing of my life.
Terri was very loving, as you all know. She welcomed me into her arms and her heart right away. I remember that at the end of the session that we had, she took me to her office, and she showed me one of her artworks.
She was describing to me this artwork that held the key. And she essentially was letting me know that I have the key to free myself. And I have the key to set myself free from my pains.
I didn't know it yet, but with Terri's great intuition, she saw something that I hadn't seen for myself, that I would later go on to discover for myself.
But man, what a journey it has been to even be able to get there, right?
Working with Terri, feeling accepted by her and being heard by her was what I needed at that time.
I was able to find my recovery and find my sobriety in 2019, but as sobriety goes, recurrences are part of the journey. And when I relapsed, I felt a lot of shame, and I felt a lot of guilt because I had let down somebody that really loved me and cared for me.
That embarrassment and that guilt and the shame drove me away into hiding, which I knew was not the right thing to do.
But Terri, she never gave up on me.
Every now and then, I would get her emails checking up on me. I wouldn’t respond to them.
But yet, I knew that someone cared for me, and she never gave up.
And then, to make some matters worse, you guys put her face on the back of the busses. I would see her everywhere I would go.
And then to make it even funnier, I lived right in front of the bus station. So, guess what?
I was seeing her face every single day. I would always laugh and I knew that I wanted to get better again.
But when you go into that deep hole, it's so hard to be able to get out. You need that strong person in your life, someone with strength and courage and love that they can show you how to become and how to be.
When I had enough and I reached back out to Face It TOGETHER, I was so nervous and I was so scared to be able to meet Terri again.
But right off the bat, when I walked back in, all I felt was love from Terri. All I felt was happiness to see me back. And I never experienced that in my life.
It didn't matter. It didn't matter that I disappeared. It didn't matter that I relapsed.
What mattered was that I was back, and Terri 100% made me feel that way. I just knew that things were going to get better.
Terri was so wonderful. She really helped me be able to be honest with myself, to really take a look at the trauma that I faced and that I went through.
And that resentment that I felt toward life, that resentment and the anger that I felt toward my parents.
All of that was just colliding with the resentment and hate that I felt for myself.
Terri was able to help me understand that forgiveness isn't about discrediting the pain that I went through.
Forgiveness wasn't about excusing the behaviors of others and what they put me through. Forgiveness was letting go, and she helped me do that. And that is one of the greatest gifts someone has ever given me in my life.
And through that work, my life turned around, and it’s been an incredible journey ever since.
Here I am today as a peer coach, something that I didn't think I was ever going to be.
Terri did so much work in drug courts, and that's where I am now, in that same room, doing the work that Terri was doing.
That is so amazing to stand here and feel and be her protégé. It is a great honor that has been bestowed upon me by her. And I continue to honor her legacy that way.
When I came into Face It TOGETHER that very first time, later on she describes me as being this broken little bird. I heard some other people today mention being held just like a bird.
She had a magic and a superpower for doing that.
Through all that work, something that is maybe quite silly but is monumental for me was living by myself, finding my own way in this world.
I'm so happy that she got to witness that, that she got to see me spread my wings and soar, find my own nest, and be able to welcome amazing people into my world.
It's been so wonderful.
You know, tomorrow, I'm having a housewarming party and I'm having everyone dress up as birds. I want to honor that legacy and how she was able to help me mend my wings so that I can fly.
And it's been an honor to be able to do that today, the same way that she did to others.
I was looking at the notes that she wrote about me when I first started meeting her.
It's been really great to be able to see, and I already knew this, how proud and how much she was rooting for me. I was looking back at the notes, and one says, “Carlos is in a good mood today. We talked about his ACE scores and the RCI. I had a feeling that he was gay,” so she clocked me right away – she knew.
But that is the magic that she had, she made you feel safe.
And when I wasn't proud of who I was and I felt shame, she let me know that it was OK. She helped me build that authentic self, and I owe so much to her for that.
But the very first session that I had with her, she wrote, “Carlos is a 20-year-old about to turn 21 who wants to start taking the steps needed to not be deep in his addiction. He came from an abusive home, his father beat him, and his mom is not emotionally there. He started hanging out in his bedroom, becoming a recluse. He wants to have a happy life.”
And Terri, I have that happy life now. So, thank you, and I love you very much.
I have one quote left, which I think it's a really beautiful quote. It is from “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger, and the quote goes, “The dead are never far from us. They're in our hearts, in our minds, and in the end, all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air.”
When I see all you guys in this room, I see Terri. When I'm at Face It TOGETHER, Terri's still there. When I'm at the drug court, I'm with Terri. When I see the sunrise, Terri's there.
So, she is not gone. She is with us and we continue to be with her every day.
This morning, when I opened the blinds to my window, I saw the sunrise. And I was reminded of her Florida days, taking her bike and going to the beach to watch the sunrise.
And I knew that things are going to be OK.
The sun continues to rise.
And Terri continues to live in our hearts.
Thank you.