<p>Numerous scholars have explored the health consequences of gang membership, particularly in relation to violence, victimization, and substance use. Fewer studies have focused on its impacts on mental health, including anxiety, depression, and stress. In particular, little attention has been given to the families of gang members, particularly the health of mothers within gang-affiliated networks. Based on Mayra’s <i>testimonio</i> of mothering through gendered violence, this article highlights the negative health effects of life course criminalization and trauma, focusing on how gendered stressors are produced by (1) biopsychosocial factors, (2) gendered social experiences and expectations, and (3) discourses of failed womanhood and motherhood. Positioned as a co-created archive of knowledge, this life history has been shaped by a bond of friendship, challenging the multifaceted traps of survival and illustrating that love can serve as both a tool and a resource in the journey of healing from severe trauma. Mayra’s story resembles one of navigating a pendulum of gendered stressors across the life course, and hope for healing as a gang-affiliated immigrant mother. To understand why criminalizing health has become the response to addressing the rigid binaries of womanhood, it is crucial to move beyond universalized constructs of criminality and focus on the manifestations of stressors, punishment, and health “care”.</p>