‘I checked the mail to find a woman asking my husband for child support. 8 years into marriage, I found out he had another daughter the same age as our child.’: Woman with vitiligo shares incredible life journey

“At 17, I got pregnant. Life completely changed. After discovering my husband’s double life, I went into the shower to find a white spot under my arm. I tried to scrub it off, but it wouldn’t move. Every time I checked, the spot was bigger and bigger. ‘Is it cancer? Is it contagious?’ I asked the doctor.’There’s no cure.’ As he pulled up pictures on his laptop, I began to cry. ‘I’m going to be a monster.’ Here I was, my marriage ending, horrified no one would ever want me again.”

‘What’s it like being a little person?’ I was touched without my consent and forced to apologize. I was so naive.’: Woman with Achondroplasia urges ‘I’m not a little person, I’m not a dwarf, I’m just Chandler’

“For so long, I thought the compliments were genuine. People would brag about how smart my brother was and be in awe over my sister’s art, while I got a pat on the head for just being…me. When I’d move my head out of the way and say, ‘Don’t pat my head,’ I got, ‘Your daughter shouldn’t talk to me like that. You should teach her manners.’ If I said ‘no’ when being asked if they could shake my hand, because they ‘always wanted to shake a little person’s hand,’ I was ‘rude.’ I felt trapped.”

‘Is this normal?’ My husband watched me jump into that black hole in an effort to pull her out.’: Woman tells how autism affected her marriage, ‘I could only see what was visible in my autism-centered world’

“She withdrew into her own world. I would stand right in front of her, screaming her name. She didn’t even acknowledge I was there. The doctors called it autism. It was still up to me to figure out how to make it better. I pushed everyone away, including my husband. A mother is only as well as her sickest child.”

‘I know you beg him to stop. I know you think you can love him hard enough he won’t hurt you anymore. One day, sweet girl, there won’t be a next time.’: Domestic abuse survivor shares powerful testimony for fellow victims

“One day he’ll kick you so hard it will crush your chest. One day he’ll pin you in the shower while you cower in the corner, begging him not to hit you. One day he’ll push you down on the floor with all his weight, and you’ll realize you can’t defend yourself. One day, it will be absolutely too late.”

‘I don’t think he knows what to do. I don’t think he’s ever had a birthday party before.’: Family throws party for rescue dog, ‘He is a completely different dog than when we first got him.’

“You should know I was adopted. After I moved in with my new family, I realized how lucky I was to be there. All the love and food I could ever want! They were all looking at me while they were attempting to sing. Wait a minute… is it MY birthday? On the counter was a huge birthday cake with writing on it.”

‘Are you going to try for a girl?’ I already had 3 boys. Strangers asked me this over and over again for years.’: Mom of 3 boys suffers miscarriage, ‘It showed us what unconditional love is really about’

“‘It’s taking too long!’ Then she was quiet. I was quiet. When I took the tests again– 3 more in fact–they all came back positive! [days later – weeks later], I called my husband. He knew if I called during a meeting, it was urgent. ‘Hello?’ he answered. ‘We lost the baby,’ was all I could get out before weeping and shaking.”

‘If you do this, Kara, you will not be able to undo it. It will be permanent, forever.’: Woman writes letter after cousin’s suicide, ‘You must not know the impact it’s going to have on the rest of us’

“If you do this, Kara, my daughter is going to ask me if she is going to die, too. I reply, ‘Everyone does die eventually.’ She is going to ask me if she will die soon or when she is bigger. I will have to admit mommies don’t actually know everything. If you do this, everyone who loves you will have their own heartbreaking story to tell about how they must now go on without you.”

‘I whipped around fast. ‘You leave him ALONE.’ He covered his ears, flapping his arms. The man snickered.’: 70-year-old woman thanks special needs mom for opening her eyes to autism, ‘You taught me patience and kindness’

“There was a grown man in his 40s. Something was off about him. He didn’t speak, but made a lot of noise. He was moving around, weaving in and out of the aisles. When he got to the checkout line, he got very animated about candy bars. An old man behind us snickered and under his breath said, ‘Hurry up.’ I would have never known if it wasn’t for you.”

‘You can terminate the pregnancy or wait for the baby’s heart to be crushed.’ I feared being judged for deciding to save my life.’: Woman births rainbow baby after painful decision to abort dying son, ‘He was suffocating’

“It was the day of my first stomach ultrasound. The doctor was quiet. He ended with, ‘I’m getting you in with the doctor’s downstairs soon,’ and walked out. I thought they were going to tell me the gender. I was so naive. ‘Madi, we aren’t here to find out the gender. We’re here because your doctor thinks your baby is dying.’ I bawled. I was handed a sticky note with a phone number for an abortion clinic. It was a matter of time before my body started breaking down.”

‘She was in her bouncer when I heard, ‘CRACK!’ A voice in my head said, ‘Take her, NOW.’ There was more to the story than I knew.’: Baby diagnosed with Brittle Bone Disease, ‘She’s our little fighter’

“It was a Friday afternoon when I got the call. Athena and I were picking out Build-A-Bears. ‘How was this missed?!’ At the ER, the doctor asked, ‘How did this happen? Who took care of her?’ He was checking to see if we had purposely abused her. ‘We need to verify if DHR needs to be involved.’ It broke my heart all over again. They checked for more bruising. I was terrified of losing her.”

‘I watched Grace’s head hit the front of the truck. Our entire bodies went under. ‘These tires are going to run us over. I’m going to lose my child.’: Woman describes trauma of car accident ‘I continue to play the ‘what if’ game with myself’

“I remember thinking, ‘This guy better stop,’ but telling Grace in a quick tone, ‘Come on. We need to hurry.’ From the sidewalk, I reached out both of my hands and yelled ‘Stop!’ I watched my own self and 3-year-old daughter get struck by a moving vehicle.”

‘I kept repeating, ‘This can’t be real!’ My deceased husband’s badge number kept showing up in places it shouldn’t have.’: Widow gets countless ‘winks’ from late husband, ‘It’s the most beautiful, comforting thing in the world’

“He promised me he would ‘come back’ to send me a wink or two. We never had the conversation again. Immediately after his death, the number ‘149’ kept popping up exactly in the moments I needed it most. My brain kept saying, ‘This can’t be real.’ It just keeps happening.”

‘Do not tell him to Go Big or Go Home!’ I whisper and instantly regret. The EMT rushed out onto the course. Skier 107 is my son. My 6-year-old son.’: Parents teach son the importance of perseverance

“‘Go Big or Go Home!’ his dad told him. Honey, this is supposed to be a fun thing,’ I told him as I brushed back his golden hair. ‘But Mommy, what if I lose?’ he cried. When we arrive at the top of the mountain, he panics. ‘I don’t want to do it, Mommy. I am scared.’ I hear the cries of the crowd, the unmistakable climax of shock, and then silence.”

‘The surgeon accidentally cut an artery. ‘This ring is yours now, Molz. She wanted you to have it. I wish she could have given it to you, herself.’: Woman surprised with late grandma’s ring after freak accident, ‘It was her little gift to me, straight from Heaven’

“My grandmother bled to death. My grandpa was heartbroken. It was a shock for all of us. A freak accident. There was no time to say goodbye or make sure she knew we loved her. When I called my grandpa to let him know I was eloping, his voice immediately perked up. ‘You need THE RING. She always wanted you to have it.’ I never expected it. I never even knew I wanted it. I felt an immense sense of peace wash over.”

‘There’s a rule at my daughter’s school. If you invite one child to your birthday party, you’re required to invite them all.’: Mom of autistic daughter says ‘You never know the gift you’ll get by saying yes to every child’

“Right now, my daughter is friends with no one. She keeps to herself and sees little interest in gossip or small talk. And that has to do with a little part of her called autism. Include the child who keeps to themselves. The one that’s weird. The one that’s ‘rude.’ Extend an invite to those who are like you, but also those who differ.”