Born in San Diego, CA, Diana’s family then moved to Las Vegas, NV in 1988, where she spent most of her adult life. Diana had a successful career in real estate but after the real estate crash of 2008 she faced having to reinvent herself and find a new career path. After losing her home, car and life’s savings she moved to Southern Utah and decided to go to college at the age of 37 as a single mother with 3 young children. Diana attended Southern Utah University in Cedar City, UT. This is where she found her passion for psychology and understanding human behavior. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and returned to Las Vegas for employment. She then went on to further her education and obtained her master’s degree in health psychology. Diana began working at an inpatient psychiatric hospital as a social worker and has a strong desire to help those with mental health and addiction disorders. In 2019, Diana enrolled in a PhD program in clinical psychology but that got derailed after the suicide of her 22 year old son. The tragic loss of her son sent Diana on a new life mission of raising awareness on mental health, addiction and suicide. Diana now lives in Southwest Florida with her 2 daughters and 2 sisters where she continues to work in the inpatient setting that treats acute psychiatric crisis' as well as substance abuse disorders. She is passionate about breaking the stigma and raising awareness in hopes to prevent others from reaching the point that her son did. With her first book, Behind the Smile, she plans to reach as many families and individuals as possible to help prevent another statistic of loss.Read more about this authorRead less about this author