Andrea Nelson, a professional boxer from Madison, Wisconsin, faced her most harrowing fight outside the boxing ring.
Nelson is a retired professional boxer and published author of the book “Fort Unicorn & the Duchess of Knothing: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter.” This memoir follows Nelson’s journey to find and save her daughter, Shyloh, from addiction and mental illness in the streets of San Diego. In 2021, Shyloh died from an overdose in San Diego.
Nelson will share her experience with the UW-Platteville community on Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m. in Nohr Gallery, Ullsvik Hall. Nelson will read a portion of her memoir and lead a discussion about Shyloh’s experience with drug abuse treatment, homelessness, and the mental health system. This free event is open to the public. Her visit is sponsored by the Olga and Ray Guest Lecturer Fund and the Department of Psychology.
"We all have so much to learn from Andrea and her experiences with her daughter's mental illness and addiction. Her talk will also shine light on homelessness in the United States and how far we have to go in addressing this complex social issue," said Dr. Elizabeth Gates, professor and chair of Psychology at UW-Platteville.
In an interview about her book with Gena Kittner from Wisconsin State Journal, Andrea Nelson shares, “It’s a sad story, even heart-wrenching, but not entirely so. Don’t be afraid to read it for fear of the sadness, because there’s so much love and beauty in it too. I tried to tell my daughter’s story with honesty and love and respect, and to do so it needs to tell of her creativity and humor and whimsical spirit. There’s an irony in how she was able to touch so many people with such absolute love and positivity, being so brokenhearted herself. She was a beautiful warrior.”