For years, Sandi Bachom thought she was financially secure. She earned a six-figure salary at a high-powered advertising firm, wore designer clothing and lived in a luxury building in New York City. But after a series of unfortunate events, she quickly found herself homeless and living on the streets. She shared her story of losing everything on HuffPost Live.
"I'm the 'one bad thing away' demographic -- it was a divorce, it was 9/11 in New York City, and then just when I was getting back on my feet again, I was run over by a car and didn't walk for a year," Bachom told host Nancy Redd. "So, if you miss one rent, you're dead. I got evicted, and I'm homeless now." In video footage shot in her former apartment, Bachom explained that she owed $141,000 in rent. "I'm wearing Prada and I'm getting evicted!" she declared.
At 68, when most of her peers are retiring, Bachom is working harder than ever as a digital journalist, filmmaker and author. But she's found a silver lining in the experience. "One of the great gifts of losing everything is that you have nothing more to give up, so you might as well pick something you like doing," she told Redd. "So I was able to completely reinvent myself."