About

“For the Love of Shaniesha Forbes ”

 

A Family's Strength, A Young Life Remembered

 

There was never a doubt that love lived in the house of Sandra and Dennis. It was a home full of laughter, the pitter-patter of little feet, and the warmth that only family could bring. Dennis, though caught up in the harsh realities of the street life, loved his family deeply. He did everything he could to protect Sandra and their three daughters from that world. But when the law finally caught up with him, everything changed.

Sandra was left to carry a weight no mother should bear alone—raising three girls with fierce love, determination, and faith, even when the nights were long and the answers few. Her youngest, Shaniesha, was just two years old when her father went away. A bubbly spirit, full of curiosity and kindness, she didn’t yet understand the absence, only that something was missing.

As the years passed, that missing piece became more real to Shaniesha. By the time she turned 13, the questions became louder than the answers. Like many teenagers, she sought connection—sometimes in places too far from home, too fast for a young heart to understand. She was sweet, funny, and loved her video games. Her laugh could light up the room. But she was also searching—for love, for safety, for someone to say, “I see you.”

In January 2013, at just 14 years old, Shaniesha walked out the door, chasing what she thought was love. That was the last time her family saw her alive.

This memoir is not just about loss. It’s about love, resilience, and remembering a bright soul who touched many lives in her short time. It is Sandra’s story, and Dennis’s. It’s Shanah and Shaquana’s. And above all, it is Shaniesha’s story—told with the love she gave, and the heartbreak she left behind.