“The pain was excruciating. I cried every time I fed her. I felt like I couldn’t provide for my child. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Sara Vianna
‘My husband sat me down. ‘I hate seeing you in constant pain. You’re good enough if you don’t breastfeed.’: New mom embarks on motherhood journey, ‘She’s our fresh start’
‘I can’t hear youuuu, I’m deaf!’ Kids mocked me. I started to realize the world wasn’t so kind.’: Deaf woman advocates for change, ‘I’m just as human as you are’
“Some thought they should speak loud and slow, as if I was dumb and incapable. ‘Young lady, I want a cappuccino, you know COFFEE with FOAM?!’ Others tipped me too much and said things like, ‘I admire your strength and positivity.’”
‘I was surrounded by beautiful fat women I adored and admired, and I watched them hate their bodies.’: Woman shares self love journey, ‘I move with freedom’
“I saw my mom tell herself she’d get back into her size 10 Levi’s someday. I saw women in bikinis being ridiculed on magazine covers. My body was something I was stuck inside of that I wasn’t happy with.”
‘Their disabilities seemed SO different, how do I bridge the gap?’ I matched with Ryan. He was friends with EVERYONE.’: Woman advocates for those with Down syndrome, ‘We all want to be valued’
“There wasn’t a person Ryan wasn’t friends with, or Ryan wouldn’t be friends with in the near future. He’s more similar to me than different.”
‘Doctors told me, ‘It will be a painful death.’ Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I made history.’: Man shares journey with Cystic Fibrosis, becomes youngest person with CF to complete marathon’
“My mom had me put headphones on so I didn’t have to hear the heart-crushing news. I chose not to make excuses, I put every last ounce of myself into fighting.”
‘You look HOT!’ They’d say. ‘I guess this is my life now.’ I was a dimmer set to the lowest setting.’: Woman overcomes eating disorder, ‘My body is designed to keep me alive, not look a certain way’
“I felt ALIVE again, and I used this as motivation to move forward. It was my ‘aha’ moment.”
‘NO! I’m not willing to give this up for ANYTHING!’ I thought no one else could love me.’: Woman finds peace after abusive relationship, ‘If your compassion does not include yourself, it’s incomplete’
“Don’t assume a man or a ring can make you feel the love and acceptance you’re longing for.”
‘I TOLD you, I’m blind. I can’t anymore.’ His response surprised me. ‘So?’ My new life began.’: Man shares journey learning to live visually impaired, ‘Fail, get up, keep moving forward’
“I biked into the back of a parked car. There was a group of people on the other side of the street laughing. I thought to myself, ‘I knew this would happen, you don’t belong on a bike anymore.’”
‘I was striving for unattainable perfection.’: Woman with Cerebral Palsy shares battle with PTSD, ‘I was BORN to thrive’
“I didn’t see an end in sight. I stayed up for 32 hours straight as panic attacks caused me to blackout, resulting in concussions. I was tired. I was done.”
‘I couldn’t feel my legs. My friend was lying on the ground and her eyes were wide open. I screamed.’: Woman survives car accident, finds strength in friendship, ‘We support each other’
“I thought my legs had been ripped from my body. It was INTENSE. I became aware of how important it is to give without expecting anything in return.”
