About the Project
Shattered Illusions began as an attempt to understand what happened to my family.
As I wrote, I found myself looking backward at my life differently. The people I had always understood simply as Mom and Dad became more complicated. I began seeing them not only as my parents, but as people—with histories, struggles, choices, strengths, and flaws that existed beyond the roles they held in my life.
In that sense, writing the book felt like watching an illusion fall away.
That is where the name Shattered Illusions came from.
More Than a Book
When I began writing Shattered Illusions, I thought I was writing a book. Over time, I realized that the story I was telling could never contain everything I wanted to preserve.
My mother’s final years were part of her life, but they were not the whole of it. She was a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a friend, and a person with interests, stories, humor, memories, and a life that existed long before the events described in the memoir.
That realization changed what this became.
The Shattered Illusions Project is a home for the memoir, but it is also a place to remember Tracey Jean White beyond its pages—to preserve photographs, stories, and memories of the person she was.
The book tells what happened. This project helps preserve who she was.
Why the Book Is Free
I never wanted Shattered Illusions to exist behind a price tag.
I wrote this book because I needed to tell the story honestly, and because I believe there may be something in it that helps another person feel less alone in their own experience.
Making the memoir free means anyone who finds their way here can read it. No purchase is required, and no part of this project depends on someone paying to hear my mother’s story.
For those who choose to support the project, contributions help with the long-term costs of keeping this website and archive available. Support is always optional. The book will remain free.
About Devin
Devin White is the author of Shattered Illusions and the creator of The Shattered Illusions Project.
He began writing the memoir after the death of his mother, Tracey Jean White, as a way to document what his family had experienced and to make sense of how those experiences changed his understanding of the people he loved.
Devin lives with his wife and children. Outside of writing, he enjoys creating—whether through art, woodworking, storytelling, or designing games.
The Shattered Illusions Project was created in memory of his mother and as a place where her story, photographs, and memories can continue to live.