MOLINE-- People in the Quad Cities community depended on her, trusted her. People wanted News 8's Miranda Khan on their side, and she was. She took WQAD's "8 on your Side" under her wing and flew with it.
"I thought that's what being a reporter was, to help the underdog, if you will," says Khan.
Fifteen years later, this former reporter's purpose is the same. But after losing her little sister, Meredith, to suicide, she's now helping in a different way.
"It was and continues to be the darkest day of my life," says Khan.
Miranda remembers her sister Meredith as kind, with a child-like imagination that often helped her escape.
"Since she was a little girl, she had a dream of writing children's books. She also struggled with mental illness," says Khan.
Meredith was in the middle of writing a book for kids when she died.
"After she passed I went through her apartment and started seeing notes here and there, and I started compiling them," says Khan.
Miranda knew what she had to do. She had to be there, this time, on her sister's side.
"I just more or less facilitated, just going through my sisters notes, sifting. What was her vision? How can we make this happen? And before I knew it, the book was done," says Khan.
That book is called "The Blossoms of Floraland.
"It was a beautiful world where not everything's perfect, but it teaches valuable lessons about friendship, helping each other in need; values that we sometimes tend to forget," says Khan.
She's reminding readers around the world to look out for one another, that was Meredith's purpose.
And Miranda's?
"Seeing my sister's name on that book, it's everything to me. This is her legacy, and she didn't die for nothing," says Khan.
It's helping others wherever she's needed.
You can now buy "The Blossoms of Floraland" on Amazon. A portion of all sales will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.