“Our journey was a rollercoaster. It’s wanting to hold your child, but knowing it is best you don’t sometimes. It’s yearning for normalcy in a world of the unfamiliar. For me, there was no greater fear than going back.”
‘We need to deliver this baby NOW!’ The NICU is a dance between life and death. We took one step forward, three steps back.’: Mom of micro preemie to become nurse, ‘I’m giving back’
‘I went on Tinder to find a snowboarding buddy. ‘May I ask you on a real date?’ My Visa was about to expire, we didn’t speak the same language, and I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend!’: Long-distance couple tie the knot, ‘Never give up on love’
“We both didn’t believe in marriage. But here I was, before my flight back to Germany, talking marriage to a guy from the other side of the world I’d only known a little over a year. I couldn’t picture life without him. I couldn’t ask myself in 10 years, ‘What would have happened?'”
‘You don’t measure up to other women.’ He detailed all my flaws. It cost me thousands.’: Divorcee details journey to self-worth, ‘Healing is beautiful’
“It struck me how just an afternoon of hearing about all of my flaws and how those flaws—my flaws—were used in the choice of another person.”
‘This isn’t for me. I quit.’ The pressure lifted from my chest. I was free to forge my own path.’: Woman deletes social media on healing journey, ‘I started a clean slate’
“I quit my job. I avoided a possible catastrophic marriage. Everything I’d kept bottled up was starting to surface. I didn’t have much courage under my belt, but I was still brave.”
‘My boyfriend who ‘loved me’ broke up with me over the phone once I was in the hospital. My health deteriorated at lightning speed.’: Woman details journey with Crohn’s Disease, ‘You can rise above and flourish’
“I went from being a perfectly healthy 21-year-old with the world by the tail to 105-degree fevers every day. One day, my mom found me lying on the couch at dinner time in my pajamas from the night before. ‘It’s time to get to the bottom of this.’ Something wasn’t right, but we couldn’t put our fingers on it.”
‘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.”
‘Please, tell me where you are.’ I’m adamant. ‘I don’t want help.’ I hang up the phone. Tears were streaming down my face. It was time.’: Woman’s suicide attempt ends in miracle survival, ‘You can choose to live’
“My girlfriend of 3 years finally left me. After all the hurt and pain I’d caused, she finally walked out the door. I jumped in my car and sped down to Walmart. I needed a gun. My brain went back to panic mode. I got in my car and just started driving. My ex had called the cops.”
‘It’s just you and me now, kid.’ I lost both my brother and my mom. My dad was the only one left.’ Woman confronts depression after family loss, ‘I feel lighter and freer now’
“My boyfriend always said things like, ‘You just lack willpower,’ in a playful, mocking tone; as if what I dealt with wasn’t all that serious. He didn’t believe my inability to overcome my depression. He tore me down to the point where I felt my existence was something I wanted to end.”
‘I’m not in love with you. I haven’t been since you got pregnant.’ He didn’t shed a tear. He turned his back and went to sleep.’: Couple learn to peacefully co-parent after separation, ‘Our love for our little girl comes first’
“‘I was waiting for the right time to tell you.’ It was 2 a.m. on a Sunday night, our little girl sleeping so peacefully on my chest. Memories of our honeymoon, our wedding anniversary just weeks before crowded in on me. How long had I been living a lie? I remember wishing I could tell him to get out. I was paralyzed. He turned his back, went to sleep as I lay awake, sobbing. Every night, I’d dream about hurting him. I had so much anger hidden away, I was afraid I’d explode.”
‘I filed for divorce last Thursday,’ my husband said. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t screaming at him. My heart was shattering.’: Woman successfully co-parents with ex-husband for son’s sake, ‘He knows his mom and dad love him so very much’
“We did not go to court to fight over our son, as James’s parents had thought I would try to take him. But we sat down, talked, and through mediation, we legally share 50-50. James is an amazing father and a good man. And even though there are things he does in his personal life and with raising our son that I don’t always agree with, I know he wants the absolute best for him. It would be nothing but unfair and selfish to take that sweet boy away from his loving father.”
