Born in Chicago, Andrea Jung married and settled down to have a family at age 20. By 1961, just seven years into her marriage, she was busy raising five children. In 1965, tragedy struck when Andrea witnessed the death of her four-year-old cousin who was accidentally run over by an ice cream truck.

The fatal tragedy, coupled with the stress of raising five young children, led to a physical and emotional breakdown. During the 10 years following her cousin's death, Andrea suffered severe depression and was hospitalized twice. Searching for answers, she turned to yoga. As she became involved with its practice, she gradually felt better and her depression lifted. However, it was not until 1979, when Andrea began taking classes at Northeastern, that she was able to make a full recovery.

Andrea was familiar with the University since two of her children, Dolora Jung Batchelor (B.S. '79 Earth Science) and Mary Jung Seufert (B.A. '80 Early Childhood Education) were already attending Northeastern. With their encouragement, along with that of her husband and other family members, at age 45, Andrea enrolled in her first class at NEIU.

"I found myself at Northeastern," said Andrea. "I was like a sponge soaking up every piece of information and every experience I could have. It was as if I'd discovered a side of myself that I never knew existed."

To learn more about her own depression, Andrea earned a bachelor's degree in psychology, followed by a master's degree in counseling. The education and training she received at Northeastern allowed Andrea to share the details of her experience with depression with her family members and to reach out to help others by setting up support groups for senior citizens.

Andrea's youngest child, Joseph, was particularly inspired by his mother and decided that her story needed to be shared with a much larger audience. After spending more than 20 years in the golf industry, Joseph's life took a new direction in 2007, when he wrote and self-published "Two Hundred Thousand Years,"a history book for children. He enjoyed writing the book so much that he decided to undertake another writing endeavor - he chose his mother's life story as his subject.

"I wanted to share her life story," remembered Joseph, "because not only does it speak to her personal courage, it also serves as testimony to the incredible strength of the human spirit."

Discussion about his mother's biography began in 2007 with tours of Andrea's old neighborhood and a visit to all the places where she had lived and played as a girl. Joseph also conducted interviews with family and friends and explored family photo albums. The book "A Story that had to be Told," was published in October 2008. Both Andrea and Joseph hope that Andrea's story will help and inspire others who may have similar problems.

"When my mother recalls her life, she does not speak about the hopelessness or desperation she experienced," says Joseph. "Instead she talks about the good that came from her struggle and about what she learned in the process."