“Emily was such a gifted kid. I was the jealous older brother. I always thought she would be going places. Until things changed. We received a large inheritance from our grandmother’s passing. It was like a switch. ‘I never want to see or speak to you again,’ I said to my sister.”

‘I really messed up Will. I’ll call you soon.’ Nothing prepares you for this. I pulled over and lost it. I look back at conversations I had with my sister and tears run down my cheek.’

‘Nurses told me to ‘Not be so dramatic.’ I tried to get help from teachers, police officers, neighbors, but nobody listened. I cried, ‘He’s hurting me, help me!’ I was sent home the next morning.’
“By 27 years old we had 2 beautiful boys and a baby girl. We were married, living well and happy. I was baking cupcakes and going on field trips – I was exactly who I thought I should be. Then it happened.”

‘Acid from the airbag burned my eyes. My first thought was, ‘Call Mom.’ I climbed out of my window, dripping in blood. ‘Mom, I crashed the car. I see cops coming. I love you.’
“I walked to my church, 5 miles away in the freezing rain, knowing I may have just seen my father and mother for the last time. I sat in the fourth row. I stared down at the ground, tears still running down my face. I wanted to be able to apologize for what I was about to do.”

‘I remember screaming, ‘What part of no don’t you understand!’ He looked at me shocked, and asked if I was ‘okay.’ ‘She’s harmless,’ he said. I had no idea what he had. I’d never seen it before.’
“I didn’t kiss my kids goodbye. I didn’t tell anyone. I left without a second thought. I don’t know how many times they asked, ‘When is mommy coming home?’ A few months later, I found out I was pregnant with twins.”

‘HI MOMMY, I’M BABY A.’ My eyes landed on, ‘HI MOMMY, I’M BABY C.’ Triplets, they deserved more.’: Mom credits unexpected triplets and husband with her helping to find sobriety
“I was working at a strip club in Detroit, trading my body for drugs, deteriorating into nothingness. I sought refuge in another rehab and shortly after leaving, I found out again I was pregnant. I went in to see my OBGYN, and cried over the possibility of an evil man being the baby’s father. I called my husband who knew the circumstances of my life and our relationship. He was willing to be there for me in whatever way he could.”

‘I’m looking down on you. LOOK UP. I SEE YOU.’ My son wrote his ‘goodbye letter,’ and ended his life.’: Mom loses son to meth addiction, suicide, claims she sees ‘signs, traces of him’ everywhere
“I got out of the car. My son asked me to hug him. ‘You know the one thing you told me never to do?’ I was confused. That’s when he dropped the bombshell on me. ‘I’ve been using drugs.’ I couldn’t believe my ears. He was not a smoker. He was very conscious about his health and was extremely fit. He showed no signs of addiction. How could I have missed this?”

‘I woke up in a different country, in a tattoo parlor, after a night of drinking. I have no idea how we were allowed on the plane. All I had was my passport.’
“I had no luggage, and was wearing my clothes from the night before. That night changed everything for me.”

‘I slept with him on our first date. Yes, we got pregnant.’: Woman’s addictions spiral out of control after birth of son
“I drank and pretty much slept with anyone–all while I was supposed to be being a mom to my 8-month-old son. My son was about to turn 1 and even though he didn’t know it, his own mother was getting ready to die, not getting ready for his party.”

‘Your sister is missing! She was last seen days ago wandering downtown. The police won’t file a missing person’s report!’ I got on the next plane home, determined to find her myself.’
“After years of searching for my sister, my stepdad asked me, ‘How long are you prepared to keep looking for her?’ She was gone, without a trace.”

‘Where is my son? You aren’t the person I raised,’ she said through tear-filled eyes. She was curled up having a nervous breakdown on the bathroom floor. Pleading me to stop, but I can’t do that.’
“Cops showed up at my mom’s house looking for me. She and I would hide behind the couch. She was my biggest enabler. Then, she had enough. With all of her jewelry, she said, ‘Is there anything you can sell so you can stop?’ There wasn’t anything real left. I had already sold it all.”