“Weeks from our wedding I was told, ‘You have cancer.’ He arrived at the hospital reeking of perfume. ‘I found someone. I’m in love. She’s pregnant.’ He left our fairytale for the woman I sat next to at his company dinner. She’d just rubbed my pregnant belly.”
“My water broke at 22 weeks. I spent weeks on bedrest at home with 4 kids under 4. We spent 8 weeks separated, me in a hospital bed, begging God to bring my boy into the world healthy.”
“She is alive,’ I kept telling myself. ‘I should be grateful.’ But I wasn’t. I was angry.”
“I was toxic. ‘You need emergency surgery.’ The thought of having a bag was the worst thing possible. I refused to discuss it.”
“I was young, outgoing, had a car, a job, and a boyfriend. But I blacked out often. The truth is, I was barely holding on.”
“I victimized myself into a life I absolutely hated, because I thought I HAD to be like everybody else.”
“She decided to stop hiding and ‘come out.’ When I finished, Julia would not stop looking at her head in the mirror. ‘It’s like I am someone else, I feel like a star.’ Her beauty and energy are captivating.”
“I’ve sat in my bed asking, ‘Why God? Why can’t I breathe like everyone else?’ I’ve wondered if I should even try to build a career, friendships, or have love in my life because I’m going to die. Then I realized I will never be able to control the cards I’ve been dealt, but I can make the decision to never stop pursuing my dreams.”
“I used to watch ‘The Price is Right’ every morning. It was my jam. Today, I absolutely laugh at the idea. I barely have enough time to drink my espresso, much less sip on a mug of coffee for an hour.”
“‘If I can make my body exactly how it was, he’ll want me again.’ I used Lent as an excuse for my new ‘diet.’ My doctor said, ‘If you catch a cold, your body won’t be able to fight it off.’ Sean immediately took note of my body changes. I was creating a monster.”
