“At that moment I knew I had made a big mistake. I knew I shouldn’t have been there. I knew it was time for me to go. As I started to look for a way out, I was approached by an older man who said, ‘You look lost.’ In this world, I didn’t have to hide ‘what’ I was. I felt desired, special, and adored.”
‘I was terrified of being ‘found out.’ I was taught by my church I wasn’t allowed to love, I was either ‘of God’ or ‘of Satan.’ It nearly cost me my life.’: LGBTQ man shares childhood trauma, homophobic upbringing, ‘We are poisoning a generation’
‘You knew who he was when you married him.’ I just have to be a good housewife. I have no other option.’: Woman escapes abusive marriage, ‘My son can finally be a normal kid’
“This was it. THIS was the time he’d change. ‘You have to forgive him if you want to be happy.’”
‘Dad, I need help.’ I broke down in a fast food parking lot at 8 a.m., drunk from the change I scrounged together. I was taking 40 pills a day.’: Dad in tears walking sober daughter down the aisle
“I called my dad crying and told him the truth. I was living a secret life, raising a 4-year-old. Not once did he scold me or judge me. He came to my rescue.”
‘My mug shot was on the news. ‘I’ve been using drugs and I’m in trouble. I don’t want to live.’ The nurse said, ‘You’re in the right place.’: Woman overcomes addiction, ‘I help people like me’
“I contemplated if I was in love with the pills and white powder he seemed to always have or if I loved him. Any loyalty I had eventually shifted to the drugs.”
‘They let children go to TWO MEN? And she’s BLACK!’ She stood with a pen in one hand and paper in the other.’: Gay dads encounter judgement, ‘See the love, not the people”
“’How’d you get her?’ I responded, ‘We adopted her.’ Her eyes bulged. ‘I’m just in shock. TWO WHITE MEN?’’
‘He can get on my last nerve but he’s also the sweetest. I put him through hell and back, yet here we are.’: Woman writes touching story about fiancé
“He had to fight for me because I was not ready to settle. My fiancé was born with no pigmentation in his hair.”
‘If he hadn’t reached out, he would’ve been dead. This is something everyone needs to hear.’: Loved one shares reality of what’s ‘brewing’ beneath the surface of COVID-19
“COVID-19 almost killed my friend, but not in the way you’re thinking. His addiction was not something anyone saw coming.”
‘Your parents don’t love you.’ I was told my father was a one-night stand no one knew. I lived my life believing I’d never find him.’: Young woman in foster care reunites with long-lost biological dad
“I found a mysterious name on my birth certificate. ‘Is this REAL? Like, am I actually doing this?’ I nervously sent him a message. My whole life was a lie.”
‘He sobbed when I drove him home, ‘No, Mommy!’ It was unbearable. In his eyes, we abandoned him.’: Woman adopts brothers 2 years after saying goodbye, ‘God had bigger plans’
“I fell to my knees. It couldn’t be. This baby boy was going to go to an entirely new home. I cried myself to sleep, praying he was safe and loved. My phone rang. When she said his name, I thought I was going to throw up.”
‘I couldn’t find an Uber. A few drinks in was the sweet spot. I needed to go home. In the moment, I felt sorry for him.’: Abuse survivor recounts chilling night
“At about 4 a.m. we were winding down. I needed to get back to my daughter. I wish I could say I ended it right then. We loaded up and headed back to the hotel. I should’ve gone home. I thought somehow I could fix him.”
