“I was happier than I’d ever been. My dad was happy and healthy, I was getting married, and my dad talked about walking me down the aisle. My heart starts racing, and that night rushes back to me.”
‘His phone rang. It was my mom in hysterics. My dad wasn’t breathing, and paramedics were doing CPR. Through all the emotional abuse, I was still a ‘Daddy’s Girl.’
‘I asked to borrow his Walkman. ‘Sure.’ My brother was breathing heavy in my ear. I froze. He told me not to tell.’: Assault survivor shares emotional journey to peace
“It began out of nowhere. I was frozen, unsure of what was happening. He told me not to tell. I knew something wasn’t right but he was my older brother, so I did what he said. Until one day, we heard my uncle’s car pull into the driveway. As he quickly opened the quickly, my brother rushed to get off of me. ‘What’s going on?!’ My stomach was in knots.”
‘Thank you my grandfather, who sexually abused me for years. You taught me how to protect my children. You taught me the good and bad in the world. That bad exists, but it never wins.’
“Thank you my ex-boyfriend, who cheated and treated me like I was never good enough or thin enough. If it wasn’t for you, I would have never known my true worth, and that I would never tolerate being treated that way again.”
‘Come back in a year. Go home and enjoy your life. If things haven’t worked themselves out, we can talk again.’ I walked out of that room confused, angry, mortified, and embarrassed.’
“After telling her my story and the results of the previous appointment, she was in shock. ‘This is NOT normal, there must be something wrong.’ This made Aaron and I uneasy yet comforted all at the same time.”
‘Just you wait,’ they say with a knowing smirk, ‘life with a baby is exhausting.’ I’m here to tell you that life without the baby is exhausting too.’
“When you return home empty handed, you also face sleepless nights. You will be exhausted, but you find it hard to sleep. You know that waking up means living in a nightmare.”
‘He had ‘no idea’. I waddled up the driveway with terror of dropping my insides out on the cement.’: Woman recounts emotional miscarriage, ‘My husband was pale, quiet’
“I looked in every bloodied towel, piece of clothing, and bathroom for a sign of a precious life to bury. I whispered to myself, ‘Why are you doing this?’ In a fog of confusion, I quietly sobbed.”
‘The doctor handed me a bunch of pamphlets and spoke the words, ‘We feel this fetus is not compatible with life.’: Mom chooses to birth baby who now ‘very much LIVES LIFE’
“I stopped her right there. ‘I don’t care what this baby has or doesn’t have, I WILL be delivering this baby.”
‘On my honeymoon, I had an ‘is this it?’ moment. Your mind says that’s crazy. You’re crazy. I don’t see another way to escape this rabbit hole.’
“Friends, don’t say, ‘If you need anything let me know.’ We won’t. We won’t tell you. We never want to be a burden.”
‘He had the neighbor watching me. ‘Bet you weren’t even raped.’ ‘Were you drinking?’ No one knew who he really was. I never thought these were red flags.’
“I found out he had been cheating on me. He convinced me it didn’t really happen and he went back to being the perfect guy. I couldn’t escape. I pushed on his chest and said, ‘No, I don’t want to.'”
‘You can’t leave me until we’re married.’ I ran to the jewelry store for a ring. I told her she was my life. She smiled as she looked up.’: Man marries ‘best friend’ 19 hours before she passed away
“When I spoke to the chaplain, he advised me his schedule was open until the 16th. My response was, ‘I was thinking tonight at 7:30.’”