She was frequently beaten by her husband, so she left the house with her kids.

Cara Brookins was left emotionally broken when her second abusive marriage ended. She got well by building her own house, which she did after seeing YouTube videos on how to do it.

The mother of four started looking for a new house in 2007 after being forced to sell the Bryant, Arkansas, home she and her soon-to-be ex shared. At the moment, though, anything the computer programmer analyst could afford was too tiny. Brookins too felt obliged to take action to bring her family back together. She admits, “But I had no idea what that should be.”

Brookins, therefore, came up with the idea to build her own house from the ground up. According to Brookins, 45, “If anyone was in our situation, they wouldn’t do this.” “No one else viewed it this way, and now that I think about it, I understand it sounds crazy.”

One acre of property cost Brookins $20,000, and she obtained a building credit for about $150,000. She then started watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do things like run a gas line, build a wall, lay a foundation, and install plumbing.


Her children, ages 2 to 17, helped her throughout the nine-month construction of the 3,500-square-foot home. At the time, Drew, who was 15 years old, helped Brookins make the preparations. Jada, who was 11 at the time, transported water from a neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She then combined the water with 80-pound sacks of concrete to create the mortar for the foundation.

It felt impossible the entire time, according to Brookins, who worked when the kids were in school. After school, Brookins drove her family to the five-mile-away construction site where she worked late into the night on the new house.


YouTube videos previously were vague and provided numerous solutions to a task. Brookins employed a part-time firefighter with building experience for $25 per hour to help with some of the more challenging tasks. She remembers, “He was a step ahead of us in knowledge.”

On March 31, 2009, Brookins and her kids moved into the five-bedroom home. She gave it the name Inkwell Manor in recognition of her desire to become a writer.

In the years afterwards, Brookins has written numerous middle grade and young adult books. She has also written a biography titled Rise: How a House Built a Family, which will be released on January 24.

Building the house helped Brookins emerge from her depression. We were ashamed that our best option was to construct our own shelter, Brookins adds. “We weren’t really proud of it,” In the end, it proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.

She says, “You can do anything you set your mind to if I, a 110 pound computer programmer, can build a complete house.” Choose one goal and stay with it. Find the big thing you want to do, move slowly in that direction, and take those who also need healing with you. That has a lot of influence.

Can You Count the Fruits Correctly? This Simple Riddle Stumps Many!

Have you ever come across a simple-looking puzzle that turned out to be trickier than expected? Well, here’s your chance to put your counting and logical thinking to the test! Take a close look at the puzzle:

A boy kept 3 apples, 2 mangoes, 5 eggs, 1 tomato, and 4 oranges in his bag. How many fruits does he have in total?

At first glance, this might seem like an easy question. But don’t be too quick to answer! Many people make simple mistakes when solving this type of puzzle. Do you think you can get the right answer? Keep reading to find out how to solve it correctly!

Common Mistakes People Make

Before jumping into the solution, let’s talk about why so many people get this puzzle wrong.

  1. Not paying attention to what counts as fruit
    One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming that all items listed are fruits. Words like “eggs” can trick people into counting them as part of the total.
  2. Forgetting that a tomato is a fruit
    Many people mistakenly classify a tomato as a vegetable. But scientifically speaking, a tomato is a fruit because it contains seeds and comes from the flowering part of a plant.
  3. Rushing through the question
    Sometimes, when a puzzle looks too simple, people tend to answer without carefully reading all the details. This can lead to missing important elements, such as eggs that should be excluded from the count.

Did you make any of these mistakes? If so, don’t worry! Let’s go through the correct way to solve the puzzle step by step.

Video : Find the ODD One Out – Fruit Edition 🍏🥑🍓 30 Easy, Medium, Hard Levels Quiz

Step-by-Step Guide to Solving the Puzzle

To find the correct number of fruits, let’s analyze the list carefully.

Apples = 3 (Fruits)
Mangoes = 2 (Fruits)
Eggs = 5 (Not a fruit)
Tomato = 1 (Fruit, even though many think it’s a vegetable)
Oranges = 4 (Fruits)

Now, let’s add up only the items that are considered fruits.

3 (Apples) + 2 (Mangoes) + 1 (Tomato) + 4 (Oranges) = 10 fruits in total.

The correct answer is 10 fruits!

Why Is the Answer 10 and Not 11 or 15?

Some people mistakenly count all the items in the bag, leading them to select 15 as their answer. Others forget to count the tomato, leading them to choose 9 or 11. But by carefully analyzing each item and applying basic biology, we can confirm that the correct total is 10 fruits.

Did You Get It Right? Comment Below!

Now that you know the correct answer, it’s time to engage! Did you get it right on your first try? Or did the tricky details lead you to a different answer? Let us know in the comments!

Also, if you enjoyed this puzzle, challenge your friends and family to see if they can solve it correctly. You might be surprised at how many people fall for the common mistakes!

Video : Can You Guess The Fruit And Vegetable By Emoji? 🍒🍎 

Conclusion: Keep Sharpening Your Logical Thinking!

Puzzles like these are great for improving attention to detail and logical reasoning. They remind us to read carefully, think critically, and never make assumptions. If you enjoy solving riddles and brain teasers, keep practicing—you’ll get better with time!

Want more fun puzzles? Stay tuned for more challenges that will test your brainpower and keep your mind sharp!

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