Transformation by Design

08/30/2026

08/22/2026

Susana Trimarco disguised herself as a madam and walked into brothels across northern Argentina, searching for her missing daughter among women trapped in s*xual slavery -- and in the process, she sparked a movement that would free over 3,000 s*x trafficking victims. It began in April 2002, when her 23-year-old daughter, María de los Ángeles Verón, left for a doctor's appointment in their city of San Miguel de Tucumán and never returned home. Frustrated by a police investigation she believed was deliberately sabotaged by corruption, Trimarco obtained the names of known pimps and s*x traffickers from police files and launched her own search.

She posed as a buyer interested in purchasing the captive women and girls -- some as young as 14, who could be traded for about $800. One r**e victim told her she had seen María drugged, with swollen eyes, in a trafficker's home that doubled as a holding place for newly abducted women. But by the time Trimarco could follow the lead, her daughter had been moved. Though María was never found, Trimarco's relentless pursuit transformed her into one of Argentina's most powerful human rights activists and forced s*x trafficking onto the national agenda. "The desperation of a mother blinds you," she says. "It makes you fearless."

Through this dangerous work, Trimarco discovered the full scope of s*x trafficking and the corruption within the police and judiciary that kept women trapped in forced prostitution. "The police would hand [the trafficked women] back to the criminals," she recalls. "They used to say: 'Don't leave me. Take me with you.'" Trimarco ended up becoming the personal guardian to 129 survivors of s*x trafficking, sheltering them in her home and helping them reunite with their families.

Trimarco's relentless advocacy forced change at the highest levels. Her work helped lead to the first law, passed in 2008, making human trafficking a federal crime; the subsequent reforms have led to thousands of people being rescued from s*x traffickers. These successes, however, have come with a high personal cost to Trimarco: she has suffered many reprisals over the years including countless death threats, having her house set on fire, and several attempts to run her over in the street.

As more trafficking survivors and families of trafficking victims reached out to her for help, Trimarco says, "It came to a point where I just did not have the capacity to help them all. That is when I decided to open a foundation." In 2007, she founded Fundación María de los Ángeles, a non-governmental organization focused on helping people escape from trafficking and lobbying for legislation to prevent it. Her efforts focused on her daughter's disappearance eventually resulted in trials for 13 people, including several police officers, in 2012; all 13 were acquitted, a ruling that prompted outrage by many and led to impeachment proceedings against three judges.

In December 2013, the Tucumán Supreme Court reversed the acquittals and convicted ten of the defendants, who received sentences ranging from 10 to 22 years in April 2014. But despite it all, Trimarco still hasn't found out what she wants to know most: what happened to her daughter. Some witnesses say she was murdered -- although her body has never been found -- and others say she was taken overseas.

Twenty-three years later, Trimarco's work continues in her daughter's name and for all survivors. Her foundation remains at the forefront of the country's fight against human trafficking, recently helping to dismantle trafficking rings in 2024 and 2025. In recent years, the foundation has expanded its role as a legal plaintiff in trafficking cases, ensuring survivors have representation throughout the judicial process. Now in her seventies, Trimarco remains internationally recognized for her work, though her search for answers about María's fate has never ceased. "Every woman I help somehow helps María," she reflects. "They represent hope in this new life of mine."

To learn more about her foundation, Maria de los Fundación María de los Ángeles, visit https://fundacionmariadelosangeles.net/

For a gripping memoir by a victim of the Epstein s*x trafficking ring, we highly recommend "Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice," visit https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9780593493120 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/4nZbSAZ (Amazon)

For an eye-opening book about an American teen girl who becomes trapped in the underworld of human trafficking, we highly recommend "The Life I'm In" for ages 14 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-life-i-m-in

For a moving memoir by a woman dedicated to ending the trafficking of girls in the U.S. as the founder of Girls Are Not For Sale, who herself is a survivor, check out “Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale” at https://www.amightygirl.com/girls-like-us-for-sale

For an excellent though challenging novel about one Nepalese girl's experience being trafficked into prostitution, we recommend "Sold" for readers 14 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/sold

For a powerful book for teen readers about how girls and women are fighting against child marriage, s*x trafficking, and gender discrimination around the world, we highly recommend "Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time," for ages 13 and up, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/girl-rising-book

For two inspiring books for young readers filled with practical advice on how to make change on issues they care about, we recommend "Start Now! You Can Make a Difference!" for ages 7 to 11 (https://www.amightygirl.com/start-now) and "It's Your World! Get Informed, Get Inspired, & Get Going!" for ages 10 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/it-s-your-world)

08/03/2026

The Stick

This morning I finished my usual two mile walk.The last stretch is always the hardest. Not because of the hill, but because I know what is waiting for me at the end.

An empty house.

Howard is gone.
Colby is gone.
Mocha is gone.

As I turned toward home, I felt my feet begin to drag, almost without realizing it. Grief has a way of making the body tell the truth before the mind catches up.

Then Colby came into my thoughts.

I remembered the walks we used to take together. Whenever we headed up the hill, he would gradually slow down. Slower. Then slower still. I would smile, wait for him, and we’d make our way home together at his pace.

As that memory drifted through my mind, I looked down. There, lying almost directly in my path, was the perfect stick.

Not just any stick.

A Colby stick.

The kind he would have proudly picked up and carried through the neighborhood as if he’d discovered buried treasure. I could almost see him trotting beside me, head held high, delighted with his prize.

I stood there and smiled.

Whether you call it coincidence, synchronicity, memory, or something beyond our understanding doesn’t really matter.

What mattered was how it landed in my heart.

It felt like a gentle whisper.

“We’re still here.”

“It’s okay.”

Grief has changed the way I notice the world. I no longer rush past small things. Some people will dismiss moments like these.

I don’t need them to believe what I experienced.

I only know that for one brief moment, the loneliness loosened its grip. I felt accompanied instead of alone.

06/21/2026

"He did the best he could with the emotional capacity he had." Sometimes that is the hardest truth to sit with.

On a day like today, society tells us we have to choose between flawless praise or bitter resentment. But the human heart lives in the spaces in between. You can love someone and wish things had been different.

If you are holding a complicated relationship in your heart this Father's Day, I wrote a piece just for you. It’s a quiet reminder that today isn't about perfection. It's about the gentle power of grace and the freedom of self-forgiveness.

Head over to the blog to read

Grief, Grace, and the Imperfect Dad by krothstein | Jun 21, 2026 | The Road | 0 comments The Unspoken Weight of Father’s Day Let’s be honest for a moment: most of our lives don’t look like an old-school, black-and-white sitcom. We don’t live in a “Leave It to Beaver” reality where every ...

05/30/2026

Day 2: Kauai Magical Grief Healing Tour. -Journal Entry.

I am determined not to let the absence of a rental car keep me from doing things. There are always plenty of things to do at a Marriott. It is not like I haven't seen this island. We've been here every other year since 1998. I've seen what I want and really, without Howie to experience things with, maybe this trip is just to rest, reset, and recalibrate.

I joined a walking tour along the lagoons, a scenic stretch that reaches out toward the bay and the lighthouse. While the guide shared the history of the land with us, I just walked. I took in the beauty of the lava shoreline and let the rhythm of the path beneath my feet do its steadying work.

I kept scanning the horizon, my eyes searching the break of every wave. I was so certain, so hopeful, that Howie would send me a sign. Perhaps a turtle surfacing for air or the distant breach of a whale. Just something to tell me that he was still right there with me, on the other side of the blue.

Kauai has chickens the way Rome has pigeons. They are everywhere, unhurried, entirely unbothered by the humans moving around them. Our walking guide was born and raised on this island, and she carried chicken reverence the way islanders do. She was very informative about the area. She knew the lagoons, the history of the old Westin properties, the sacredness of the land beneath our feet. She knew the chickens by their markings. If they had names, she would have known them, too.

When we came around the back side of the golf cart storage area, she began to clap her hands. And the chickens came running. She scattered birdseed and they clustered at her feet, a small feathered chaos of pecking and jostling. I smiled at the absurdity and the sweetness of it all. We had ourself a chicken whisperer!

And then, from a tree overhead, a red-headed cardinal dropped down and joined them.

Several people in the group gasped. They had never seen that bird before. I had. Howard and I had watched ones just like it come to our balcony at Hanalei Bay year after year. We had marveled at them and their beauty. Seeing it stirred up emotion from somewhere quiet inside me.

But I did not yet know the best part was still coming.

Our guide said, almost in passing, "There is a beautiful red one that lives in the area. We might get to see it." I puzzled over that. A Northern Red Cardinal? In Hawaii? I thought she might be mistaken. Cardinals belong to the mainland. They are mainly on the eastern side of the United States. Cardinals are how Howie tells me he is close. He's proved that with some NOE's scribed elsewhere in this journal.

At our next stop, she pointed into a tree above us and said, "Look. There he is."

I looked up.

I was not prepared for the color. It was not the red of any crayon I have ever held. It was the red of something that exists outside of ordinary categories, bold, vivid and alive. His little head was poking out of the branches of a tree. As he looked down I was looking up. We held that gaze for a long moment, just the two of us, and I felt Howie so clearly a big smile broke across my face, my heart raced and I felt the taste of joy.

Then my brain interrupted, as brains do. Get your camera. I fumbled for it, tried to find him in the frame, and by the time I did, he took flight into the forested area.

I was deeply disappointed, but I did not need the photograph. I had already received the message. My heart was so full I did not know what to do with it except keep walking, grateful, and satisfied I had received my message. Who needs a turtle?

04/29/2026

If you are carrying a loss right now, whether it is recent or has been quietly reshaping your life for a long time, I want you to know something before you scroll past.

You are not broken. Your grief does not need to be fixed, treated, or cured. You do not need to perform healing on anyone else's timeline.

What you might need is someone who can simply sit with you in it. Someone who understands that grief is not a problem to be solved but a profound human experience to be witnessed and honored.
That is what I do.

I am Karen Rothstein. I offer a complimentary 20-minute conversation, no commitment, nothing to prepare, just a chance to see if working together feels right for you.

If something in you is saying yes, I am ready. The link to schedule your call is in the comments below.
👇

04/23/2026

Grief is a deeply personal and often challenging journey. Remember, reaching out for support is a sign of strength, not weakness. While each of us must navigate our own unique path through grief, know that you don't have to face it alone.

By connecting with loved ones, engaging with your faith community, seeking solace in prayer, and consulting with mental health professionals, you can find the support and healing you need.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and need guidance during this difficult period, we're here to help. Whether through counseling or simply offering a listening ear, we offer compassionate support to those navigating grief. Please don't hesitate to reach out; we're here to walk with you.

What is your greatest challenge during this season of life? Leave a comment below and let me know.