“We met at a McDonald’s parking lot, her belongings in a trash bag, and had a quick goodbye. I was left dumbfounded. She would yell, ‘I’m going to burn your house down!’ People on the outside had no idea what went on behind closed doors.”
‘I made a HUGE mistake. The kids are gone.’ My heart broke. ‘Can you return and take her?’ It was too late.’: Mom describes ups and downs of foster care, ‘The journey’s been worth it’
‘Where are you right now? If you’re still there, you need to get out! You need to tell your mom.’: Woman finds happiness after years of abuse, neglect
“We went from talking almost every night to talking almost every month. ‘Shelainea, you need to tell your mom.’ The divorce took a toll. She changed for the worst. ‘You shouldn’t be going through my phone!’ I couldn’t believe she was doing this to me.”
‘I kissed him with a face full of blood. I hid his gun every time an argument was coming. I built up every part of him, while he destroyed each part of me.’: Woman’s harrowing story shows ‘how easily domestic violence can go unnoticed’
“This was a man I️ would’ve given my last breath for, but chances are, he’d be the one taking it from me. I painted the most beautiful picture of our family while living in horror. Five and a half years ago, I would’ve said it could never be me.”
‘I’m still forced to see him at court proceedings. I want to run so far away from him. My whole body hurts.’: Narcissistic abuse survivor says ‘there is absolutely nothing romantic about abuse’
“’Come on, it wasn’t all bad.’ I agonized over every detail of our relationship trying to make sense of it all. I cried. A lot. Just because things seemed good, doesn’t mean they ever really were.”
‘I just want you to know, we are the family who adopted your son.’ She hadn’t gone a single day without thinking about him. ‘Can you be here in 2 weeks?!’: Adopted boy surprised with biological mom, now part of beautiful open adoption
“I told my son, ‘Your present is in the van, you can go get it.’ He stopped dead in his tracks and exhaled, ‘Mom?’ He took off sprinting into her arms, sobbing.”
‘I’ll have her taken away from you.’ He played dad to a child who watched hers die months prior.’: Mom and daughter survive narcissistic abuse, ‘She was his victim, too’
“This was not, ‘Hey this isn’t working for me anymore. I hope we can still be friends.’ I found out he cheated on me, took my money, sold me a car he had pawned the title to. ‘I’ll have her taken away from you if you’re not careful.’”
‘Another baby wasn’t worth losing my life. My hope of a large family wasn’t happening. ‘Do you want us to adopt you?’: Mom adopts family friend at 54, ‘We needed her to fulfill our family’
“Before we could blink, we had teenagers and a daughter in college. I know people in their forties adopt, but my husband was not on board. We met Rachel when she was five. She had a background of neglect and abuse. I officially became a new mama at 54.”
‘I like you around my mommy because you don’t yell and scream at her.’ The judge thanked him for stepping up and loving us. I couldn’t hold back my tears.’: Woman marries ‘fairy tale’ man after abusive relationship, new husband adopts her 3 kids
“I didn’t think Brian could ever love me, a single mom to 3 kids. ‘You need to tell him about the abuse.’ I was broken, terrified I’d scare him off. He looked me dead in my eyes: ‘I want YOU, that’s not changing anything.’ He never gave up. When I had nightmares about my abuse, he woke with me and talked me through them. One day, he said, ‘I’d like to adopt your kids.’ Fairy tales aren’t just for the movies. I’m living one!”
‘If you’re gonna hit me, just get it over with.’ She threatened to flush my head down the toilet’: Bullying victim urges understanding, ‘This is why they become bullies’
“I did absolutely nothing to her. I feared for my life. Years later, her sister and I bumped into each other, and we hung out. She told me about Elsa. She had been through hell.”
‘My mother said, ‘We need to have a talk.’ She placed me in a trance. She kept me close, controlling all my decisions in the name of ‘love.’: Narcissistic abuse survivor urges ‘you deserve to be safe and happy’
“She made me feel special, then she controlled what clothes I could wear, what friends I could have, where I went to college, and my wedding. She wanted to ‘show me off’ to her friends. But there was a huge price to be paid. She found any excuse to keep me with my vices if it meant keeping me close to her.”
