‘Beyond rebuilding:’ Missy Sexton finds resilience through grief

In the past three years, Missy Sexton has lost her home beside Troublesome Creek twice — once to flooding, once to fire.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it did happen, not why,” Sexton said. “I’ve not even gotten that far yet.”

Floods initially came through Eastern Kentucky in July 2022, destroying Sexton’s roadside home.

She then spent the following year rebuilding and getting married to her husband, Donny Sexton.

The wedding was held next to the banks of Troublesome on the first anniversary of the flood. The wooden arch still stands quietly between the moving water and trees.

“I told Donny I just want to leave it there, I want to stabilize it a bit, I’ll hang a plant off of it or something,” Missy said.

Four months after the wedding, tragedy hit once more: the newly rebuilt home burned to the ground.

“We barely got out of there, but we did. We did.” Missy said.

During those same years, Missy, one of nine siblings, lost three of her brothers to drug abuse and suicide.

But in the face of all the heartbreak and devastation Missy faced, she’s a woman who refuses to give up, no matter what’s taken from her.

“After the floods, we were forced to do things we were not comfortable with,” she said, “No, I’m not a bit comfortable doing this, but it has to be done.”

Beyond rebuilding her home, Missy has also refilled her kitchen pantry.

As a child, her parents taught her the art of self-sustainability through gardening. Now, her garden covers the replenished land between her house and Troublesome Creek.

She sells produce through a homestand, but she also wants to provide knowledge to her neighbors.

She is concerned that Hazard, Kentucky, is in a food crisis because of low accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables.

“The most impactful thing I think I can do personally is to keep living a good life and try to give back so that people see if she can get out, I can get out too,” Missy said.

Despite the challenges, she refuses to leave her land and surrender herself to grief. Troublesome Creek offers her a peaceful refuge from reality; the gardens, a place of renewal that allows her to keep going.

“The payoff, though, is what you get mentally, spiritually and emotionally,” Missy said. “Have I made any money today? Nope. Did I get to spend a little time on the creek? Yup.