“10 years ago, my son died. I’ve never talked about it with anyone but my wife. It’s taken 10 years to realize I want to talk about it all the time. Public talk of grief is very, very weird. It’s all ‘sorry for your loss’ and tilted heads, cards with calligraphy and whispering. We’re on tiptoes all the time. But grief is not one thing. It’s not just sadness. It’s a galaxy of emotions put in orbit by the loss of someone you loved.”
‘The doctor kept saying ‘your daughter’ in his last moments. Through gritted teeth I said, ‘He is a boy.’: Dad silent for 10 years after losing twin, urges ‘ask your sad friend about the sad thing you never talked about’
‘I’m under the impression you already know your baby is missing its left hand.’ The doctor looked mortified.’: Couple learns of daughter’s limb difference, ‘angry’ after doctor suggests termination
“I can still smell the pungent cleaner that room smelled so strongly of. My gut told me he wasn’t telling me something. I immediately saw red. Oh the tears I cried. Nothing can prepare you for news like that, nothing. I wanted to protect her. She was perfect.”
‘I placed him in a box, handing him off to a stranger. ‘I love you, Ren,’ I whispered to my son.’: Father tearfully recalls needing to be the ‘superhero’ after losing newborn, ‘I began to break’
“As my wife looked at his little face, she asked me to hand her a wet washcloth. Confused, I then watched as she began to softly dab his little dried up lips. She nurtured and cared for our little boy’s fragile body. I have so much gratitude to this woman. How strong she is. Not only did she say hello to our son for the first time, but soon, she was going to be forced to say goodbye. The thought haunted me.”
‘Kayla BARELY speaks. Is she stupid or something?’ That was it. I was done feeling sorry for being shy.’: Woman learns to accept herself as is, ‘there is nothing wrong with being an introvert’
“Those words stung. I heard them from beyond the bathroom door. I went home and cried before wiping away my tears. I have been shy and introverted my whole life. I am still shy, and I will probably always be shy. And that is OKAY! I’m done feeling inadequate for being myself.”
‘Let me know if you need anything.’ But a new mom never will.’: Woman’s candid advice on how to help a new mom so they don’t ‘shoulder it alone’
“Bring a meal, but don’t go in. They just had a baby, they need food. They don’t need to put on a bra, clean the house, or entertain.”
‘If you do this, you will destroy your family.’ They looked me straight in the eye. Wow.’: Mom of 6 adopts internationally out of birth order despite harsh criticisms, ‘our story is messy, but worth it all’
“‘Hi, my name is Teresa and I’m mom of six,’ I want to say like we’re in a support group. I still laugh at the whole concept of me being responsible for all these wonderfully, crazy children. Kids were not the plan. But as my husband and I stood before the photograph of a little boy praying, it was like blinders fell from our eyes.”
‘You need to come now.’ He told me he ‘found’ my daughter. I fell to my knees in the snow.’: Dad loses daughter to Fentanyl overdose, ‘Please wrap your arms around your loved ones’
“That’s how it all started. A little bit of weed and a little speed. She believed people who told her it was no big deal. She wanted to get clean. ‘Daddy, I don’t want to go back to that stuff ever again.’ The rest of the story is buried with her.”
‘I was near tears, about to lose my sanity, certain I’d never forget that moment. But then that night you snuggled up to me.’: Mom insists she’ll always ‘forget’ her children’s wrongdoings
“The day you came into the world was hellfire, more pain than I ever knew I could handle. I didn’t handle it actually; I think I survived it. I remember thinking I will never forget this, even though they say you do. But then you were warm on my chest and I did. I forgot it. I will never ever forget the gold and magic I see inside you; you can count on that.”
‘I filed for divorce after only 7 months of marriage. I was humiliated. People would talk in our small town.’: Woman made drastic decision to better herself, ‘I knew I had to do something’
“He was my partner in crime and he always took me back. The feelings I SHOULD have for my husband simply were not there. I was not in love… at all. I began to resent him and knew I had to do something.”
‘The last thing I wanted to do was hug her.’: Overwhelmed mom ‘swallows her pride’ to embrace daughter during meltdown, ‘they don’t need you to shame them’
“She had just bit me. And screamed at me. She wanted to be in control. So did I. But here I am, on the bathroom floor, engulfed in her embrace. I’m not innocent in all this. I was ignoring her. She lost it on me. ‘Do you need a hug?’ I sure did.”
‘Hey, Miss Samantha. Where’s your husband?’ I was home alone. ‘My GIRLFRIEND is on her way.’: Lesbian couple urges they don’t ‘need any help’ from a man in their relationship
“I was home alone. 2 plumbers came over unannounced. Looking back, I probably should’ve asked them to come back another day, but I trusted the situation and let them in. I had my phone in my hand, texting my girlfriend to come over. I felt so uncomfortable. Both of their voices were very deep, in control. One of the men walked to the truck to grab something. He said he would be ‘right back.’ I was now left alone with the other.”
‘I went back to work. We needed an income. I’m just going to say it, I don’t feel guilty. I love it.’: Mom enters workforce after 5-year break raising babies, ‘I still wanted my identity’
“Love makes a home, but it doesn’t keep one, and we needed an income. Is there guilt? Well, I listened to the PTA president of my kid’s school talk about how good it is for mothers to be involved. Thanks Betty! Perfect timing. Then there’s missing the baby because he’s asleep when you left, and asleep when you get home. But I’m just going to say it, I don’t feel guilty. I love it.”
‘Mama, can I see a counselor?’ My little is in 2nd grade, requesting therapy. She’s ‘having feelings.’: Widow learns to accept grief as positive, ‘these feelings reminds us it’s all real’
“It’s November 19 again. The ‘Deathaversary.’ The day I lost my husband, my kids their father. Mixed feelings of laughter, despair find me when I see a card my little one left on the junk table: ‘Deer dad, we all wish you could come back. A boy Luke likes me. I wish you could see him.’ I want these feelings to leave us the hell alone. And then again, I don’t. They keep him here with us.”
I Conquered Meth Addiction And Regained Custody Of My Kids
“I was 25, divorced, and living in a cycle of brokenness and addiction. I had 3 other kids and didn’t have custody of any of them. My boyfriend wanted me to have an abortion, but when I chose life, he left. My children’s foster mom saw my hurting heart when all the odds were stacked against me, and fought alongside me. She never gave up on me.”
I Met My Husband Via An Accidental Text, Now We Have 5 Kids
“He had literally just set up the new number and a few minutes later he got my text. If I had sent that text in the morning, he would have never gotten it.”
‘I was 15, terrified. I got my first positive pregnancy test in my high school bathroom.’: Teen mom marries high school sweetheart, 4 kids later she ‘wouldn’t change a thing’
“It was a Friday night, the first football game of the year. I was a freshman. One of my friends talked me into going to the game and dance afterwards. Little did I know, that dance would change my life. I ran into my neighbor and his friend, Chad. We talked, laughed, had a great time. By the end of the night, I put my number in Chad’s phone. Months later, I was asking my friend to buy me a pregnancy test. I was 15.”
‘Am I still a virgin?’ A 13-year-old girl sits on my examination table. ‘Yes.’ She cries tears of relief.’: Child abuse pediatrician pens PSA on virginity, ‘Women need to know the truth about their bodies’
“Her uncle started raping her when she was 7 years old. I tell her she’s going to be okay. I tell her WHY she’s still a virgin. ‘Rape is not the same thing as sex. Having sex WITH someone can only happen with consent. Otherwise, it’s just violence, period.’ She dries her tears, and smiles for a new beginning.”
‘There’s nothing you could have done. It wasn’t your fault,’ my nurse said. I started sobbing on the phone.’: Woman’s finds healing after ‘agonizing’ miscarriage, ‘I promise you, there is LIFE after loss’
“I remember sitting in the doctor’s office at age 17, wondering if having my own kids was ever a possibility for me. I’d been diagnosed with PCOS at a young age. He put me on birth control and it hardly affected my life. Until I started seriously dating. I felt like dating me came with a warning label – a precursor: ‘Watch out, no guarantee I can have kids.’ And what if someone didn’t want to marry me because of it?”
When You Marry A Nurse, You Marry Their Job
“She calls me on her way home in the morning, 5 hours after her shift should have ended, to stay awake. I let her talk, I let her vent, I let her know that she is an amazing mother, nurse, wife. She gives her 100% day in and out. So, I do the same.”
‘You know what? Let’s ruin Allison’s life today.’ I couldn’t breathe. I screamed so deep my toes would curl.’: Mom turns to drinking to cope with grief after losing child to molar pregnancy
“My soul was going to jump out of my body and chase her to Heaven. Every night after my kids went to bed, I opened the bottles of whiskey. I walked in after my surgery with a bottle of Fireball. Jacob asked me, ‘Is this going to be a problem?’ I asked him why he asked me that. ‘Because you never buy alcohol to bring home. You only order drinks, not bottles.’ I’ll have many questions when I get to Heaven, but every one of them will wait until I get my girl in my arms.”
‘I became a crappy friend. My best friend got cancer. Instead of being a rockstar, I went MIA.’: Woman pens sweet letter to best friend who beat cancer after losing her mother
“My best friend showed up at my son’s birthday party and told me she had the same cancer that took my mom a year earlier. I was numb. Heartbroken. Clueless how to maneuver through grief, while also trying to support her. Sure, I sent cards and care packages. But I was MIA. Truth is, I was obsessively thinking about her. It’s taken a year to finally wake up.”
‘My wife knew I was gay since I was 16. ‘You need to come out of the closet.’: Gay man now living his truth after 10-year-long marriage to woman
“I realized I was gay early on. My parents didn’t know what to do. Lolly thought I should marry a prudish Mormon girl who didn’t want sex. I thought it might be better to marry someone like her – an open, communicative girl who DID want sex. For years, she deflected the possibility of BEING the girl I married, but when I dated one of her best friends in college, and she saw me playing the part of a ‘straight boyfriend,’ she began to see me in a different light. She began to fall in love with me.”
‘This holiday season, I belong to me, before I belong to anyone else. There. Is. No. Winning.’: Woman implores self-care over pleasing everyone else, ‘It is NOT your job to run yourself ragged’
“Dear extended family, the proper response to your loved one not being able to be in a dozen places at once is, ‘We’ll miss you, but we understand. Let’s get together another day!’ Anything more or less than that is emotional abuse that we do not deserve.”
This Kind Railway Staff Gave My Autistic Son A Magical Experience After His Meltdown
“We have never experienced a company that cares so much. They said they want ‘everyone to experience something special and magical.'”