“Please, just sit beside me. Say nothing. Do not offer a cure. Or a pill, or a word, or a potion. Witness my suffering and don’t turn away from me. Please be gentle with me. And I will try to be gentle with me too.”
‘My child may have died, but my love – and my motherhood – never will. Not a second passes when I am not aware of my child’s absence.’: Woman pens letter for bereaved mothers
‘He’s old enough to be alone. Why do you always have to babysit your brother?’ No one understood. I promised to protect him.’: Older sister becomes advocate to brother with autism, ‘He is my biggest teacher’
“I felt this huge need to protect him. Children would laugh at him and call him stupid. I screamed at them and stood up for him. The older I got, the angrier I was and the more pain I felt. I didn’t know what to do.”
‘She tapped a stranger’s shoulder, ‘Um, excuse me, sir.’ Without any pauses she said, ‘We need to make a game plan for you guys.’: Woman experiences unexpected kindness on flight, ‘We can do these things for other people’
“I see a flight attendant lock eyes and head our way, I freeze a bit. Since it feels like exactly zero people are ready to fly, I feel like this is a safe space to finally unpack this. It was the last flight of a very long travel day.”
‘My brother and boyfriend bought a car together for $35! Now it takes more than that just to fill the gas tank!’: Woman reflects on changes during her lifetime thanks to StoryWorth
“Usually life changes slowly in real-time and so quickly when one looks back. Lately, though, things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up!”
‘It’ll happen when it’s supposed to.’ I was told I should have been pregnant by now. Don’t get me wrong, A LOT has happened this last year.’: Woman struggling with infertility says ‘we would love prayers’
“Infertility has been my battle for 500 and some-odd days. Test after test, to the point where I want to quit taking them. Ovulation sticks that seem to just be a waste of money. Do not get me started on the scheduled sex, that is always a blast.”
‘You’re not welcome.’ On the ride home, my friends apologized with tears in their eyes.’: Former police officer raises awareness about discrimination
“I’ve been ignored, called names, and spit on. Not only as a black man, but also as a black police officer. I want something different for my daughter.”
‘Well, mommy, I’m not just black. I’m white too!’ I had to explain, ‘I know baby, but people may just see your hair and tan skin.’: Mom to multiracial family urges ‘race talk’
“With everything currently happening in the news, I began to realize I needed to have ‘the talk’ with my children very soon. To see the confusion on their faces hurt.”
‘Their 10-year-old son went out for a bike ride. Suddenly, police were knocking on their door after reports a black man was trying to break into a house.’: Woman asks others to ‘use your privilege for good’
“The test results said, ‘You are 98% privileged.’ They stared back at me like a red blinking light. The results shouldn’t have been a surprise. I’m white, heterosexual, and was raised by two white, heterosexual parents.”
‘Are you going to buy that book?’ An employee walked over to me. ‘You can’t stand here and read it, you have to put it down.’: Woman details personal experiences with racism, ways to help
“‘Are you kidding me?’ I looked around at the others doing the same exact thing. ‘So, it’s OK for them to stand and read, but I can’t?’ She smugly said, ‘YEP.’ I started shaking.”
‘I broke up with my boyfriend only to find out I was 9 weeks pregnant. I had to break the news.’: Teen mom, abuse survivor says ‘my story made me the badass I am today’
“I found him talking in the laundry room at our apartment complex with a woman from his job. She was there letting him know she was also pregnant. I felt like vomiting. There I was, a young, scared, single mom homeless and couch surfing, starting her life ‘alone.’ I knew I had to get out.”