“To this day, I’m still not sure which random stranger named me in that hospital room. I was sent to a hospital for a full screening. They documented all the marks on my body with hours of questioning. I trembled in fear. In a dark hallway, a nurse – who took her job because her husband was also a survivor of child abuse – spoke these words to me. I can still hear her strong yet gentle voice. ‘Annie, the cycle ends with you.’ I finally know now, my parents aren’t going anywhere.”
‘I was an ‘accident.’ My birth mom ‘tried to get rid of me,’ but couldn’t. She didn’t even want to name me.’: Orphan named by stranger in hospital room finally adopted at 26, ‘I longed to belong’
‘Mom, something awful is happening to me.’ They found embalming fluid in my system, causing me to black out.’: Young woman overcomes meth addiction, hidden sexual abuse on camera, ‘My awful memories no longer haunt me, I am healed’
“I was 18-years old when I met him. I moved in with this man who was 17 years older. He told me he loved me. I believed him. He convinced me to do things, including recording our sexual encounters. ‘These are just for us to watch,’ he promised. I checked his browser history, horrified at what I found. Our sexual encounters were being posted on a pornography site.”
‘He’s never kept secrets from me. Today, in the very back of that last closet, I found something I hadn’t expected.’: Woman works through jealousy of fiance’s past relationships, ‘Do I really want to do this?’
“Everywhere I turned, his ex’s belongings were in all the rooms. Pictures on Facebook showed memories made in what had now become my kitchen and my living room? Every time his ex’s mail came to the house, my body would run hot and cold at the same time. His daughter would start every new conversation with, ‘When she lived here, we did…’ It was eggshells for me.”
‘Daddy is going to take me from mommy and I will never see her again.’ My memories are dark.’: After years of childhood bullying, woman finally breaks free from trauma, ‘I am free’
“My family would say I was ‘crying wolf, I was fine.’ ‘I wasn’t depressed. To stop faking it.’ I was spiraling. Money was tight for my dad, so we had to stay in the same room. I lived a lie. I woke up, went to school, put on a smile. Then I then came home and fell into darkness. My dad finally made me start paying rent to live with him. I put my key in my apartment door and just sighed with relief. I was free. Free to breathe. No mental abuse. I was free.”
‘How could she be a sacrificial mom? She let her daughter grow up in foster care.’ I felt bad for them’: Birth mom let daughter grow up in foster care, ‘She’s my ideal mother’
“My mom chose to birth me during extreme hardship in her life. I was conceived out of abuse, my biological father passed before I was born. She lived alone, with no family close. Regardless, my mom said to me, ‘As soon as I heard your heartbeat and saw you on the ultrasound, I knew I loved you.’ My mom chose sacrifice when she chose life for me.”
‘No wonder things got so volatile, living with someone like THAT.’ You hear them talk at dinner parties.’: Woman urges ‘it’s not your job to fix an abuser’ after finally deciding ‘humiliation, shame’ was enough
“You had a huge fight with your partner. You wonder if you are being abused, or if it was ‘just a mistake.’ You watch them chat and laugh with your partner at holidays and school functions, and you know they will never believe what happens behind closed doors.”
‘He can’t take my kids! My daughter isn’t even biologically his. Where would he have gone?’: Mom overcomes abusive partner to regain joint custody of son
“I waited until the next morning and then went back to the motel room, terrified, but worked up the guts to knock on the door – no response. I then make my way to the front office and the clerk tells me, ‘Ma’am, room 135 has already checked out.’ I start crying hysterically.”
‘I’m a dominatrix.’ I was in shock. ‘Did you have sex with my husband?!’ My legs got weak.’: Woman overcomes husband’s affairs, urges others ‘you have the courage, strength to move forward’
“He was nowhere to be found. I grabbed the house phone and realized the telephone cable was pulled from the jack. I started to get worried. He finally called, he was on his way home. ‘My friend needed to borrow some money. I went to the bank to withdraw $200 for him.’ Something wasn’t right. I checked the last 5 numbers dialed. One of them I didn’t recognize, so I called it back. It was a woman.”
‘He said, ‘Hey, I have herpes. Did you give it to me?’ Just like that. I played my part of ‘perfect girlfriend.’: Woman urges others to ‘listen to that voice inside’ after finally leaving abusive relationship
“The day of the funeral came. I smiled when people asked, ‘When are you guys going to get married?’ I cringed at the thought. I checked his phone. Him: ‘My mom left me a lot of money.’ Her: ‘So?’ Him: ‘Now we can be together.’ Her: ‘What about HER (me), you’re lying.’ Him: ‘Let’s run away together.’ I woke him up and asked him, ‘What the hell is this?'”
‘Which way did he go?’ This was our great escape. My dad was a monster. I was sworn to secrecy.’: Woman credits foster parents for ‘saving’ her through ‘dark times,’ battling suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse, Bipolar disorder
“My friend asked if I wanted to stay the night. I couldn’t, but asked if she wanted to stay at my house. Before I could even finish, she told me ‘no.’ I shrugged it off, no big deal. A week later, she saw my whole family. That’s when I recognized the fear in her eyes. She had not seen my stepdad since then.”
