Kayla Stoecklein Biography
Asked, Kayla Stoecklein, never envisioned becoming an author. Circumstances in her life made her a writer, speaker, and dealer of hope. She is now an author and mental health advocate. She was the wife of the late Andrew Stoecklein, who tragically took his life after fighting depression and mental illness. Now, Kayla is on a mission to ensure no other person suffers the pain she and her husband suffered.
Kayla Stoecklein Family and Husband
Kayla 33 or 34 comes from a Christian background, lived the Christian way, and married a Christian man on 10th December 2010. They lived a Christian lifestyle as her husband was a pastor at Inland Hill Church. The couple was blessed further with three boys. However, despite living as faithful Christians, God had a story they never imagined.
Andrew Stoecklein Death
On the morning of August 25th, 2018, Andrew, nicknamed by his friends Drew, attempted to take his own life. Before he could pass away, Kayla took him to the hospital, informed his family, and asked for prayers in an attempt to save his life. The unfortunate happened. Drew, the father of three, husband, pastor, and friend to many was pronounced dead.
Prior to his death, Kayla explains in interviews, Drew was fighting depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Only Kayla and a few of his close friends knew of his condition. According to Kayla, Drew was passionate about the church and wanted things to run as he planned. The zeal to serve led to burn out and the burnout ultimately led to anxiety and panic attacks especially when things did not go as planned. Kayla described that Drew would weep in the bathroom, claiming he was seeing dark creatures. The fear tormented him for years despite prayers and medical assistance. He could go to the scripture, pray, worship, and speak about mental health to his audience but he could not save himself from demons attacking him. One fateful day, Drew surrendered to his fears. He took death pills, took a rest, and breathed his last at age 30.
Kayla Stoecklein Recovery and Rebuilding
Kayla, who was hopelessly in love with her husband, was left heartbroken and angry at God. She was a faithful wife. She served the Church, but still, God allowed her to go through excruciating pain. Months went by but she could come out of the pain until one day she realized God was there with her and had never left her even once. Kayla learned that God was present in the death of her husband and throughout her suffering. As peculiar as Christians are, her suffering turned to hope. With the restored mind, Kayla purposed to change the story. Now, she rejoices in her sufferings knowing the heartbreak would never leave her. Instead, she would have the strength to carry it forever.
Living the new hope, gave her a new perspective of God, her life and the short time Drew was in her life. She took the lemons life had given her and made lemonade. She wrote her first book Fear Gone Wild as a celebration of Andrew’s life. The book re-tells the story of Andrew. It aims to inform the world of how Andrew lived instead of how he died. In 2022, she wrote her second book Rebuilding Beautiful. The book is about herself and the journey she took to rebuild her life.
Despite her loss, Kayla has not lost hope in life. She believes God had a purpose for everything happening in her life. She has a blog that keeps her audience updated with events happening in her life. Kayla frequently commemorates her husband’s life and shares the memories of moments she spent with Drew. The courage to tell her story has earned her influence and attention on social media. On Instagram, she has more than 80k people and thousands of others wanting to hear her story from her blog. She has also been featured on Better Together hosted by Laurie Crouch, Joyce Meyer Ministries, The Big Silence, and Life today Tv. Mrs. Stoecklein is also an advocate of mental health, seeking to help those suffering from mental health and suicide ideations.
