River Falls mother publishes memoir 10 years after her 3 daughters were killed

It’s been a decade since a tragedy shook River Falls, Wisconsin. On July 10, 2012 Aaron Schaffhausen killed his three daughters while his ex-wife was at work.

He is serving three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for each of their deaths.

Amara was 11 years old, Sophie was 8 years old, and Cecelia was 5 years old.

“The darkest moment in my life is when I lost them and each step I take from there is trying to bring more light into the world to fill what was lost,” said Jessica Peterson, their mother.

In a new memoir, she recalls the last moments she had with her daughters on that July morning. She shares letters she wrote to her girls as she mourned them.

“Thistles and Thorns” delves into the magnitude of her loss and the depth of her grief. It’s also a story of survival.

“Here’s this life I’ve built,” she said of her journey over the last 10 years. “Trying to really show that these horrific and hard things can happen and you can respond to them with a little bit of grace and a lot of hope.”

Peterson is also using her memoir to share the joy Amara, Sophie and Cecelia experienced during their lives.

“I really want them to remember more about how the girls lived than how they died,” Peterson said. “I want them to see the power of community just coming together to face these tragedies. I think at the very core of it, there is suffering in life and your traumas and your tragedies don’t have to be international news to be worthy of being looked at and you’re not alone in your suffering, that we all do in some ways and how we can come together and carry each other forward.”

The outpouring of support she received is one of the reasons Peterson stayed in River Falls after her daughters were killed. There are memories preserved there, too, from the school where her daughters attended to the library they visited together.

With the community’s help, she was able to build a playground in River Falls. It opened in 2015. Each of its three sections is dedicated to her daughters.

Amara’s area showcases her love for science and soccer. The slide is built into a giant cleat and there are test tube and microscope climbing features.

Sophie’s love for the outdoors is clear from the tree stump and leaf climbing features. The passion she had for fashion design is detailed in an “accessory mountain” featuring shoes, purses and sunglasses.

Cecelia’s section highlights her love for bugs, while also giving children a place to climb high into the air like she did.

Artwork from each of the girls is also incorporated into the playground.

“They were just amazing kids and I miss them every day,” said Peterson.

She feels close to her daughters at this playground, which can be seen from their headstone. The cemetery is just down the road.

Peterson, now remarried, hopes the space will be a place for families to create new memories, as it has been for her 8-year-old daughter Trinity and 7-year-old son Flint.

“Just the joy of getting to see them do the things their siblings would’ve done and just being in this space,” she said as she reflected on their time at the park. “That’s been a big part of my recovery from losing them is building this life that I love as much as the one I’ve lost.”

She added, “I have love, I have support. I just really tried to turn away from those darker moments and just really tried to have some grace and some forgiveness for myself and I hope I can help others as they face their own tragedies know that it is possible to survive that.”

Her memoir can be purchased in stores starting on Nov. 1. There will be a launch party at Tattersall in River Falls from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 12.