“Frozen in fear, you lay in your bed with that twisted knot in your stomach. There is always the question: who protected the little girl with the big, brown eyes? The answer? A resounding no one. I was a little girl.”
‘Starved for love, I made disastrous decisions. Eventually, I turned to food. I weighed in at 391 pounds, my body just as unhealthy as my soul.’: Survivor details battle with demons, ‘I am a beautiful disaster’
‘What the hell did she leave on my truck?’ This muscle-bound man was barreling towards me.’: Woman finds new purpose and true love delivering ‘Love Notes’ to veterans
“‘There is not a man alive who is going to understand what it is you do.’ I wish my mother could have seen the man I’d been praying for, the man she said did not exist, show up. It wasn’t an accident.”
‘Pregnant at 18, I heard, ‘You’re young, you’ll bounce back!’ It became etched in my mind. Stretch marks and loose skin? BAD.’: Mom learns to cherish postpartum body, ‘This body is my home’
“I tried all of the creams. For years, I wore only high-rise pants and would turn away from friends when we were getting dressed. I hated what I saw in the mirror. But one day, I looked down at my tummy and saw the ripples, the marks, the stretched belly button. And I smiled. This body is my home.”
‘Can you bring Layla to meet her new mom tomorrow?’ Never in their lives have the boys cried so hard, so long.’: Mom changes her mind, gives foster dog forever home, ‘She will always be right here’
“My husband and I ever-so-reluctantly agreed to foster a dog. And foster we meant! Then, we got the call. ‘Can you bring Layla to meet her new mom tomorrow?’ New mom? Tomorrow? I did not like the sound of either of those things. She still belonged to my family.”
‘How could someone do that?’ I was forced to become a single mom after a friend saw my husband with a married woman I knew.’: Woman marries dream man after divorce, ‘He is proof everything happens for a reason!’
“I wrote a list of things down I wanted in a man and circled the list in prayer. Two months after I finally stopped fighting for my old life, I met Ryan. ‘If you want to date me, you have to date my daughter.’ I was tough. I pushed back. I shared the good, the bad, the ugly. Without question, without a pause, without a doubt, he chose me. And he chose my daughter, too.”
‘I should be there.’ I saw them hanging out on social media. All I wanted to know is where I came from.’: After rejections by biological family, adoptee says ‘your family is who you want them to be’
“I had very little information in my adoption paperwork left by my biological mother. I wanted to try to connect with my biological family. My adoptive mom ended up finding my older sister. She was in shock, as they didn’t know about me at all.”
‘The doctor paused at the end of the bed. ‘Uhhh…it’s a boy that looks a lot like a girl!’ My husband took a closer look. ‘OH MY GOD, IT’S A GIRL!!!’: Mom births baby with cleft lip, ‘She is my hero’
“We cried loud and hard and basked in that moment of complete shock and joy. The room seemed so loud, when suddenly somewhere in the room I hear the words, ‘What about the lip…’ and then deafening silence. I shot straight up, picked her up, and flipped her over. The world stopped. ‘Babe look….’ My husband turned pale.”
‘He was missing life. Strong Papa, who saved the day. My daughter wanted a tattoo like his.’: 15-year-old Granddaughter gets tribute tattoo for Papa after he passes from cancer
“When my daughter came off the field, I told her Papa wasn’t there to see her sing. She cried so hard. She knew how much he wanted to be there. It broke her heart.”
‘I searched through his phone after the constant lies. Now, my heart no longer races every time a phone ‘dings.’: Woman says ‘there is a person out there who will treat you like treasure’
“As trash, I questioned my self worth. I lost my spark, my wit, my humor, and my way of life. Then I met my husband. My spark started to return.”
‘He met me at the door. ‘Close your eyes.’ I could tell by the eagerness in his voice, he had something delightful to show me.’: Widow recalls late husband’s emotional birthday for daughter
“He led me into the living room. I found myself dripping in anticipation. He took my hand and shuffled me to the center of the room. ‘Okay, open!’ he exclaimed. I didn’t realize I was crying until I reached up to wipe my face.”