“All that Matters”: A Journey to Re-embracing Life All that Matters is a story of redemption involving a young woman ready to give up life, a father trying to reach out to his daughter, and a grandmother attempting to help her granddaughter find her way again. Jennifer Stempler felt she had no more reason to continue living. She had lost everyone she cared about, except for one. Her mother got killed in a tragic accident, her boyfriend had called their relationship quits, and her father who never had time for her to begin with just had a new wife and a baby girl. So on the beach near her Venice, California home, she coaxed death to take her, with the help of tequila and Xanax. But when Jennifer opened her eyes, she readily knew death had failed to claim her. Death did not have a “worn and wrinkled” face, and it certainly did not look like her grandmother. It dawned on her: She was alive and in a hospital. And worse, Gabby, her grandmother — the one person Jennifer knew would be deeply hurt if she succeeded in her suicide attempt; and the last she wanted to see — was with her. Though old and sickly, Gabby was deeply caring and very determined to nurse Jennifer back to health and guide her back to the right path. When Jennifer’s options were narrowed down to three — being confined in a psychiatric institution, or staying with her father whom she hated, or flying to New York to stay with Gabby — Jennifer chose the last, against her father’s will. In New York, Gabby showed Jennifer at every turn that life was worth living. And, though at first Jennifer was oblivious to Gabby’s open and affectionate ways, she eventually started re-embracing life. Soon she was starting to trust, love, and hope again.