“I was walking to my dealer’s car when suddenly four police cars turned up. You’d be amazed at how blind when you are in full-blown addiction. I didn’t care what happened to me.”
‘You’re bleeding behind your eyes.’ I drank to forget the pain. Internally, I was completely dead. I’d never felt so alone.’: Man details addiction recovery journey, ‘I completely changed my life’
‘Have fun,’ I whispered as he leaned in to kiss me. ‘I will.’ He quietly slipped out for a hike, and never came home.’: Widow shares words of wisdom after late husband’s hiking accident
“There was an ache in my chest as I waited for his return. My experienced hiker, my beloved husband, wasn’t answering my calls or texts. All of this life we loved together vanished in a moment.”
‘The executive told me, ‘I’m not here to help another white girl save Africa.’ This was NOT the life I had anticipated.’: Woman creates global movement for non-profit hospitals, ‘This is the life I was meant to lead’
“I saw dozens of smiling infants, cooing and adoring the hospital caregivers they know as ‘mamas.’ I witnessed an orphan, who we found in a diabetic coma, now thriving. The 6-year-old, who was severely emaciated, weighing only 9 pounds, now fully recovered and walking.”
‘You have always been my loudest cheerleader. I never knew…but now, I know. You are not just my mom, you are my truest friend.’: Woman pens touching Mother’s Day tribute, ‘You taught me how to be a mother’
“I was still 15 and so you drove me the 30 minutes there, stayed in the car doing your nursing school homework during the 3-hour rehearsal, and then drove us the 30 minutes home. Every single day.”
‘Last night I asked my student what he plans to do post-graduation. ‘I’m just going to community college.’ My heart sank.’: Teacher urges ‘what you choose to do post-grad should will always make us proud’
“He’s worked his butt off for 4 years and he isn’t proud to be going to community college. I told him his response was not acceptable. I heard something in his voice change.”
‘My grandma showed up in the OR during my c-section. She had a few choice words for the doctors.’: Grandmother teaches pregnant woman important lesson about kindness in dream
“When I shared this dream with her, she laughed! She said she’d have to start consciously watching her language again before Little Man arrives. Their minds are not the only ones impacted by this chatter.”
‘Goodbye Jaci,’ I scream at the fragments of glass. ‘I can’t continue on this path. I must cut myself free of all of you, if I want to fly.’: Woman describes her rebirth, ‘I have found myself.’
“In a panic now, I pray. I put my hands up to my bloody mouth and pray long and hard and more fervently than I have ever prayed before. I can’t go back. I won’t. ‘Please help me.’ I will not look behind me anymore. There is no going back. I must break free from the cage I have held my self in for so long.”
‘Do not tell him to Go Big or Go Home!’ I whisper and instantly regret. The EMT rushed out onto the course. Skier 107 is my son. My 6-year-old son.’: Parents teach son the importance of perseverance
“‘Go Big or Go Home!’ his dad told him. Honey, this is supposed to be a fun thing,’ I told him as I brushed back his golden hair. ‘But Mommy, what if I lose?’ he cried. When we arrive at the top of the mountain, he panics. ‘I don’t want to do it, Mommy. I am scared.’ I hear the cries of the crowd, the unmistakable climax of shock, and then silence.”
‘Don’t wait on a floor to ceiling window and a fake house plant. I want you to go for it, whatever your ‘it’ is.’: Mom says ‘you can crush your goals now, you can pursue your dreams’
“I have all these mental images of women, dressed for success and sitting desks with their laptops open and their not-even-necessary glasses to the side. The lighting is bright and there is a perfectly groomed plant in the corner by a floor to ceiling window. I felt like an imposter for being successful.”
‘Only 6 months after our divorce was final, my ex-husband ended his lifelong battle with mental illness.’: Woman’s journey to discover her ‘self-worth’ after ex’s suicide
“I kissed, hugged and squeezed him, laughing and crying, in shock. The crazy thing about it is that even though our marriage was always hard – he was abusive and constantly tormented by his own mind – I loved him. I still do.”
