Sad
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‘This Thanksgiving, I refuse to share what I’m ‘thankful’ for. Grief and gratitude can sit at the same table.’: Mom of child loss abstains from holiday traditions, ‘I’m still grateful, but bereaved’
“I get it. The holidays bring in the time of year when I’m supposed to focus on what I have and not what I want. Well, no thank you. I’m grieving that empty space at the table. No matter how many times I write down all I’m ‘thankful’ for, someone is missing. Excuse me if I seem hesitant to participate in your sharing around the table. Please trust that I’m still a grateful person.”
‘I can’t… goodbye… I love you,’ he slurred. I never heard the gunshot, just his screams. He wanted me to hear everything.’: Widow resorts to post-loss drinking, sex binges to cope with husband’s suicide, realizes he ‘wasn’t the monster mental illness made him out to be’
“‘I don’t love you. I never did. These past 7 years I’ve just been playing house with you and the kids.’ My husband scoffed these words to me after I found a video email from his married girlfriend confirming my worst nightmare. I was trembling uncontrollably. Later I sat on an old road listening to the helicopter above us trying to locate John while we passed my cell phone back and forth begging him to put down the gun. Just before 9 p.m., John asked for the phone to be handed back to me.”
‘You’ll never be anything, don’t bother with college.’ I was a ghost with a heartbeat. I wanted to fade into oblivion, ashamed of who I was.’: Young woman battles anorexia, urges others facing struggles to know, ‘You are your main priority’
“Before I could finish my sentence and inform my mother I have it, she rolled her eyes and stated, ‘Oh, is this the thing where they don’t eat? Pretty selfish really.’ I will never forget the moment she said, ‘I don’t want to do this just as your mom, I want to be your best friend.’ In this dark moment, I just stared at her. I felt nothing. ‘There is nothing you can do.’ I was so very, very, very wrong.”
‘Sis, I love you and I’m so sorry.’: Sister details drug abuse of twin brother, begs addicts and family to ‘TALK. Be a friend, it’s not too late, recovery is worth it’
‘Mom, what’s wrong with my uncle?’ He moved on to trying new, stronger drugs. My twin brother died that day.
‘I found chewing tobacco stuffed in a couch cushion, bottles of mouthwash, empty bottles of vodka stashed in the drop ceiling. How did I not know?’: Mom recounts 15-year-old son’s battle with alcoholism
“He was 19-years-old with acute liver failure. As the hospital elevator doors opened, the words ‘Solid Organ Transplant Unit’ were burned into my brain. How can we be here now? He is so young with so much to life to live.”
‘Miya killed herself.’ The wind is knocked out of me. I call her husband. ‘What do you want to know?’ He utters coldly.’: Woman harbors ‘immense guilt’ for not ‘saving’ sister from suicide, ‘All Miya ever wanted was someone to love her back’
“We were riddled with confusion, not allowed in her home, not allowed to pack her belongings, not allowed to have her phone or computer. Where did she do it, when did she do it, who was there. ‘Chicago, something about Chicago. There was another woman.’ My sister’s husband was cheating on her with someone he met online from the Windy City, who in two days, to our shocking surprise, would introduce herself to us at her memorial service as an acquaintance.”
‘Here we go again. Feel happy with the 2 you have here.’ I read it several times. I will not be silenced.’: Mom of triplet child loss responds to ‘internet troll’ after hurtful social media comment
“It may make people uncomfortable. It may even make you cringe. But I will never stop talking about my children who died. I usually take the high road with ‘internet trolls,’ but for some reason, I responded. I will not be silenced.”
‘Our beautiful, once vibrant Sarah is now a shell of a human.’ I was spiraling out of control. A monster was being born.’: Young woman overcomes eating disorder, ‘struggling is not a character flaw. You are worthy of help.’
“I was struggling in secret, terrified someone would find out. Bit-by-bit, I was disappearing. ‘You don’t need to use your body to show you’re hurting.’ School no longer mattered, and a monster was being born. Everyone walked on eggshells around me. Then all of a sudden, my parents learned what was happening. They were shocked.”
‘Please don’t leave me. You can have us both.’ I panicked. I must’ve dropped the ball somewhere.’: Woman recalls pain of infidelity, finds happiness with new husband, ‘I didn’t think people like him existed’
“There it was in my phone bill. The proof that something was wrong. I found text messages to another number all hours of the night. I called to pay my power bill and was asked ‘which address’ I wanted to apply the payment to. Then I knew. He had two places he was living. Two separate lives. ‘Honey, he doesn’t deserve your love.’ I was sure I’d never marry again, until our blind date.”
‘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’
“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.”
