“And boy, you are doing a great job at it.”
‘You are not broken, you were simply chosen to be strong.’: A Letter To The Person Without A Positive Mother Figure This Mother’s Day
‘He wouldn’t give me my son. He slammed me into the wall so hard I blacked out.’: Woman shares heartbreaking story of abuse, ‘You don’t realize it’s not right until it’s too late’
“I was pregnant and with my kids’ dad at the time, so I didn’t give him the time of day. He told me he had herpes. Just like that. After a year, and he is just now telling me.”
‘I caught him in lie after lie. ‘But it’s MOSTLY wonderful!’ I had to choose whether I was going down with him.’: Woman leaves abusive husband, finds love again, ‘I’m no longer that scared girl’
“I stood barefoot in the dark, cold parking lot, sobbing, hoping he would follow me and tell me to come back home and everything would be okay. He never came.”
‘He raged, ‘Just STOP eating.’ Shocked and embarrassed, I did. I learned to eat quietly or not at all.’: Woman seeks recovery from eating disorder, trauma, ‘I’m reclaiming my joy’
“‘STOP scraping your teeth on your fork!’ he yelled. I feared family meals. I became strong when skinny and untouchable when numb.”
‘My ‘prince’ became a nightmare. ‘You’re too MANLY, lose weight.’ Then there were the other women.’: Woman breaks free of abusive relationship, finds ‘absolute DREAM’ husband
“The divorce left me with barely any dignity. Then I met Jim. We both knew what it was like to live with nothing, to sleep on couches, to have next to nothing to our names.”
‘I’m going to come back and take you to Mexico.’ She needed TOTAL control. I gave all I was willing to give.’: Woman says mother ‘showed her which path NOT to take’ after years of abuse
“We would find her sleeping under my husband’s van, leaving bags of trash in my driveway and weird gifts at my door for the kids. All in an effort to guilt me into letting her into my house. I did not feel safe. I felt as if she might just pop out of the bushes and take one of the boys and I would never see them again. But I would NOT give in.”
‘I have over 1,000 people living in my body, all with different personalities.’: Person with Dissociative Identity Disorder seeks to educate others
“All of them have different personalities, perspectives, opinions, feelings. Most of the time, things get quite messy and chaotic.”
‘Redheads are witches!’ From my first breath, I was different. I had to find love within myself.’: Bullying survivor shares journey to self-love
“My hair put me in the spotlight. People thought I was strange or unhappy, but on the inside was a party full of light and laughter. I had to choose ME.”
‘You’re the only one I ever felt was on my side.’ We found a broken system. Even if it changes just one life, it’s worth it.’: Foster mom shares ‘roller coaster’ journey, ‘We rise to the challenge’
“I’ll never forget the day CPS called and said, ‘The mother is accusing your family of neglect.’ I immediately felt sick to my stomach. Seeing the children reach milestones, despite the odds, makes all the background noise disappear.”
‘You’re a MONSTER.’ I felt like I needed to ‘win’ her love. But my dad never let me down.’: Childhood abuse survivor adopted, ‘I FINALLY feel loved’
“My dad NEVER let me down. He never promised anything he couldn’t keep. When you think about it, I had my adoptive parents my whole life. They just couldn’t call me theirs until it was legal to do so.”
