"Facing Life Without My Twin"

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loved life." Doctors suspect her sister had postpartum psychosis—a condition that Lavelle thinks went undiagnosed in part because Jenny was generally a genial, cheerful person, and also because of a lack of safeguards like postbirth mental health checkups.Lavelle never wants another mother to fall through the cracks.

Along with her family, she's founded a group called Jenny's Light to promote mandatory mental health screening for new moms and to push for better research on postpartum disorders.

The organization has already raised more than $100,000.In April, Lavelle returned to Alabama for an Olympic trial—an event she'd long expected her sister to be watching from the stands. "It was sad," she says of running without Jenny there to cheer her on. "But knowing that we're working to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else helped get me through it." That race went well, and she went on to qualify as an alternate for the Beijing Olympics.Someday soon, Lavelle hopes to start her own family. "I'd never thought of getting pregnant as scary," she says. "But now I know that postpartum depression can happen to anyone.

Women need to understand that they aren't alone, it is treatable and it's OK to talk about it." Lavelle knows Jenny's Light has a long way to go before it achieves all its goals, but she's not worried: "This is a marathon, not a sprint."By Courtney EnlowBy Courtney BiggsBy Fiorella ValdesoloBy Sandy JorgensonMore from GlamourSee More Stories© 2023 Condé Nast.