Overcoming the darkest valley

WHEN life collapses under the weight of hardship, some people lose their voices. But P Falasha Harrison found hers in the very moment she thought she had none left. Her story is one of pain, perseverance, and a profound encounter with God, transforming her from a survivor of suicidal despair into a beacon of hope for women walking through their own darkness.

Harrison’s journey was shaped by years of emotional strain, financial instability, and the heavy responsibility of raising her children alone. As a single mother she felt the simultaneous pressures of providing, protecting, and proving, with no one to catch her when she fell.

The weight became unbearable.

“I reached a point where I told God I had nothing left. Nothing. I didn’t want to live; I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted the pain to stop,” Harrison said.

Depression and exhaustion had wrapped around her like chains, and suicidal thoughts slowly crept in. She hid it well; behind smiles in public, behind strength her children depended on, behind prayers that felt unanswered.

But one night, in complete silence, she felt a presence stronger than the darkness around her. Harrison describes a moment of divine interruption, not loud, but firm enough to pull her back from the edge. “In my darkest hour, God did not shout. He whispered: ‘You are still needed. You are still chosen’. And that whisper saved my life.”

It was not an instant transformation. Slowly, she found strength to rise from bed, courage to ask for help, and clarity to rebuild the pieces of her life.

Prayer became her lifeline, scripture her anchor, and her children the daily reminder that she still had purpose. “God didn’t remove the battle, He strengthened me to fight it,” she said.

Being a single mother while battling emotional wounds is warfare. Harrison fought through days when she felt unworthy, unseen, and overwhelmed. Yet she continued, one meal at a time, one homework session, one whispered prayer of “Lord, help me” at a time.

“I realised I could not pour into my children if I was pouring from emptiness. Healing was not just for me, it was for them too,” she said.

Through her healing she taught them resilience, faith, and the courage to speak about their struggles rather than bury them.

As an executive brand and strategy advisor, Harrison has had her fair share of challenges, but she learnt to show up when life became difficult.

“It is not what I want, it is what God wants. During the darkest times of my life, God didn’t just help me, He saved me and delivered me. My steps have been ordered by God, so all my victories and accomplishments are what God wants for me,” Harrison said.

“I have stood in places where despair feels louder than hope, I am outspoken about suicide prevention and mental health. I know what it feels like to want to give up, and I know what it takes to come back. I cannot be silent. My work, my speaking, and my advocacy are rooted in showing people that their lives are worth living, that restoration is real, and that hope can be rebuilt.”

Good mental health, she added, enables one to handle life’s stresses, be productive, and contribute to community, while poor mental health can lead to burnout and affect physical health, work, and relationships. It affects your thoughts, feelings, and actions, and is just as important as physical health.

“When you have done enough work, when do you stop? You have to create a balance. Balancing my time and caring for my mental health has made me who I am today. I wasn’t like that before, and I had no idea that I had mental health issues. I started doing things out of character and I never knew I needed help until I broke down,” Harrison said.

Harrison indicated that she wasn’t raised on stability, but on survival and sacrifice. She was born in Boston, United States and came to Jamaica as a young child, where she was in the care of her grandmother.

However, as a child all she felt was absence. She longed for a mother who, in truth, was nothing like the fantasy she built in her mind. By 18, she was a mother of two and was carrying adult responsibilities before she had even stepped into adulthood herself.

“Motherhood sharpened me, it taught me discipline, urgency, and the kind of resilience you cannot learn in a classroom. It became the fire that fuelled my determination to build something different for myself and my children, and it shaped how I lead, advise, and advocate today,” Harrison said.

That decision to build differently is reflected in the lives of her children. “My son, now 32, is an educator whose entire life is committed to the education and literacy of black children. While pursuing his PhD at Vanderbilt, he also serves as principal of a Brooklyn middle and high school, entrusted to restore excellence and possibility to a community of black and brown students,” Harrison said.

“My daughter, now 30, is a mother, entrepreneur, artist, and global travel professional, bringing beauty and welcome to every sky she crosses. And my youngest, just 17, is a freshman living on campus and embracing her first year of university life with confidence and joy.”

Harrison indicated that when she looks at their brilliance, she realised that they are her living legacy and her greatest achievement. “I told myself that I am not doing this anymore. I want to get mentally healthy. Everything is not perfect, you just have to live in the moment and try to create a balance. The only perfect person on this earth was Jesus,” she said.

That legacy, and the tension between absence and presence, survival and strategy, has been the throughline of her life and work.

“I built my career at the intersection of international business and leadership strategy. I managed million-dollar budgets, elevated luxury brands, and later turned to non-profit transformation, proving that mission-driven organisations deserve the same structural strength as Fortune 500 companies,” Harrison said.

Today, as founder of The Nonprofit Agency and Her Legacy Co, she channels every part of her story into systems, strategies, and movements that restore dignity, rebuild families, and create lasting legacy.

Even now, adversity still appears. Challenges do not vanish, but Harrison faces them anchored in faith. “Every day is proof that God rescues. Not just once, but over and over again,” she said.

Her life stands as a reminder that moments of despair do not define a person. What defines them is the courage to stand again, the willingness to heal, and the faith to trust that God has a plan beyond the pain.

Her victory is a testimony: “I am living proof that God can take what was meant to destroy you and use it to lift you. You can survive. You can heal. You can rise again.”