The stepmother of a local teen, who was killed while riding his bicycle in Innisfil in 2012, has published a memoir titled The Majewski Curse, highlighting the pain, suffering and subsequent tragedies experienced by the boy's family years after the deadly incident.
In her book, Lisa McInnes describes in detail her take on that fateful night when 17-year-old Brandon Majewski was struck and killed. She explores the meaning of loss and how she found the strength to rise above and push forward.
McInnes had been with partner, Derek Majewski, since 2003, and was stepmother to his sons Brandon and Devon. She also had two children of her own. The family of six had just moved to Innisfil that year and was settling into their new community when the fatal collision occurred.
"We were like a modern-day Brady Bunch," she said.
Brandon was killed instantly on the night of Oct. 28, 2012, when he and two friends were struck by an SUV on Innisfil Beach Road while riding their bikes to Tim Hortons.
Brandon never made it to the hospital; he died on impact. His two friends suffered injuries, but survived.
The tragedy caused an outcry from the community when the driver of the SUV, the wife of a York Regional Police officer, was never charged, leaving the families of the victims frustrated and confused, desperate for answers and justice.
In her book, McInnes reveals her side of the story and why the families never got the closure they felt they deserved. Losing Brandon left a profound mark on the town and the community, but especially his family and friends.
Not six months after Brandon's death, tragedy struck the Majewski family again when 23-year-old Devon died from a drug overdose in the family home.
It was McInnes who found Devon's lifeless body that morning. She confesses she still has nightmares about it to this day.
"I couldn't get that image out of my mind for months," she said.
McInnes believes Devon's death was accidental, a devastating result of his pent-up grief over the loss of his brother.
Losing both boys in such a short time period was soul-crushing for the entire Majewski family, and it was a struggle to get through each day. So it was a shock when, in a twisted turn of events, the driver of the SUV that killed Brandon decided to sue the Majewski family for personal trauma resulting from the fatal crash.
"All I could think was, what kind of person would do this to a family they had already destroyed?" she wrote. "This was just the straw that broke the camel's back."
The counter-suit made headlines worldwide.
After the news broke, Derek's life began to take a turn for the worst, spiraling into misery, anger and addiction. McInnes stayed by his side, trying to help him move forward while staying strong for her other two children. But the weight of the stress was too much.
In late 2015, after a visit with his doctor and an emergency MRI for severe back pain, Derek was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
"We had suffered so much and, at this point, life almost didn't feel real anymore," McInnes writes in her book, which chronicles the last 18 months of Derek's life.
Derek held on to the hope that one day the driver in the crash that killed Brandon would apologize. He never got the apology or his day in court. Derek died in December 2017 and Brandon's case was mediated out of court.
For about a month after Derek's death, McInnes hardly left her room, grieving the life she once knew and the trauma of the past five years.
Then, in January 2018, she says she experienced a "spiritual awakening. ... One day I just woke up and felt different, better and alive, like I wanted to join the world."
The idea for the book came from one of her counsellors, who encouraged her to start writing a journal to help process her emotions and nightmares.
A quick read at only 130 pages, McInnes says she intended to keep her book short and to the point.
"It gave me the opportunity to fill in all the blanks," she said.
But after reading her first draft again, she decided it was too dark.
"I put it aside and went back to it a year later and wrote it again. But it was still dismal."
It took a third rewrite before she says she was ready to share her story publicly.
McInnes hopes her story can show others how to grow from their struggles and pain while inspiring others to find inner peace.
The book ends with two chapters on complicated grief and how to respond to loved ones who are suffering.
"I want people to know that you can still be OK," she said. "When something awful happens to you, you have three choices: You can let it define you, you can let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you. I hope you choose to let it strengthen you."
McInnes has since remarried and is living in Barrie. She says she has committed to a life of mindfulness and well-being. She is also working on her next book.
The Majewski Curse is available on Amazon, Indigo and Kobo.
McInnes will also be selling and signing copies of the book at the 400 Market on Sundays for the next few weeks.
To learn more, follow her Instagram @lis_mcinnes or visit her website here.
