Lia Palladino

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Jewelry Lia Made for me
Another piece of Jewelry Lia made me.
Lia Palladino. That was her name when I came to my first day of work. She was my boss at my first job out of college. She was an art director and I was a mac artist. Lia was beautiful - she was waifish and had the most beautiful long wavy cinnamon colored hair. Lia was Italian and Swedish. Her artistic senses were off the chain. I looked up to her in so many ways. She wasn't that much older than me, but she was definitely someone that I idolized. Lia was very kind, she loved animals, she was not only a wonderful graphic artist, but she was also great at anything creative including sculpture, painting, jewelry making. At first I was intimidated by her, but her kindness made me realize that she was someone who would encourage me in so many ways to believe in myself and my abilities. What would happen next was a friendship that would last until Lia VanAbel left this earth. I was her friend through her relationship with a singer at the Former Limelight turned into Ruperts, we used to go to the Lemondrop when it was open. Many a good time out with Lia. She would walk into the room and heads would turn. It was great being her wingman. Later on, when she met Ray VanAbel who was a salesman at HiFi Buys where we worked, I was a bridesmaid in Lia's wedding in Inman park. She was the first person to teach me about how cool Little 5 points, Morningside and Candler Park were back in the 90s. She suffered depression, but the general person wouldn't have know it. The first time she tried to take her life, she ended up in Brawner - a psychiatric hospital that in 1999 was threatened to be torn down. I visited her there every day until she came out. I was fiercely protective of her after this. Unfortunately, she quit and was no longer my boss, and Ray took a job in Grand Rapids Michigan. I was so worried for her to go there away from her family and friends. At my 10 year class reunion in Detroit (1993) I drove over to Grand Rapids, spent the weekend with her before driving back. It was here that I learned why she had so much trouble coping. She had suffered greatly as a child, her mother was in and out of the hospital, and finally returned to Sweden. Her anger towards her mother she was finally able to work through. She also had suffered sexual abuse as a child. This is something no one should have to endure, and certainly not as a child. At this time in her life, she was unhappy in her marriage, and told me she would be getting divorced and come back to Atlanta. When she got back, she worked for IBM as a creative director. She changed her name to Taliah VanAbel. We were still great friends, but as time went on, we saw less and less of each other. Lia seemed very happy, and really excelled at her new position, and new life. She finally seemed comfortable in her skin. We would get together for lunch or dinner probably once a quarter. When I got word that she had taken her life, I felt sad, defeated, frustrated, angry that all basically turned to an emptiness. I knew I couldn't have helped her, even though I wanted to all along. The only peace I had was knowing that she was finally at peace. Lia had a huge impact on my life. I will never forget her. I have a pair of earrings she made from an old rosary that I wear a lot. I think of her every time I wear them, and the other things she made me. She was a wonderful soul that I had the privilege to know.

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