“Our 15-year-old had been talking about building bombs.”

A Massachusetts family’s journey back from the brink.

We were just a regular family. The biggest thing on our minds that week was refinancing our mortgage. Then the FBI showed came to our house.

They told us our 15-year-old son had been talking online with a terrorist group—about building bombs.

I couldn’t even process the words. This wasn’t who we were. This wasn’t who he was. But it was happening.

At first, we thought it might be a mistake. Our son used to be so social—into sports, always surrounded by friends. But over time, he had started to pull away. He spent more time alone in his room. He was bullied at school, and we knew he was struggling, but we chalked it up to a phase.

We didn’t realize how far he had gone online.

We tried everything—religious counseling, therapy, taking away his internet. But nothing seemed to help. He just found new ways to access the same content: violent rhetoric, extremist messages, footage of attacks from around the world. The more we tried to intervene, the more he withdrew.

Eventually, we were connected with Parents for Peace.

It wasn’t instant. It took fourteen months before he even agreed to speak to them. But unlike the other paths we had tried, this one worked. They didn’t just talk to him—they talked to us. They saw us as a family. They helped us understand the root causes: the isolation, the shame, the vulnerability to influence. They gave us tools to reconnect, to reframe how we approached him, and to stay present even when it was hard.

For the first time, we didn’t feel judged. We didn’t feel alone.

Today, our son is in college. He’s talking about the future. He’s thinking about work, friendships, and relationships. There’s joy in his voice again. A few years ago, we didn’t think that would ever be possible.

We still carry some fear. But we also carry hope. Because we’ve seen what support can do—and we know that if it happened to us, it can happen to anyone.