“I was 19-years-old when I watched my parents shoot up heroin at our kitchen table. This is a picture of what I have left of my dad. I held my father’s hand as they told him there was nothing they could do.”
‘Why don’t you get us some lottery tickets?’ I couldn’t imagine what he could be thinking. Tears streamed down my face.’: Woman details parents’ drug addiction and desire to break the cycle
‘We rushed to go get our nails done but her reason ‘why’ struck me right in my heart.’: Mental Health counselor says, ‘you never know someone’s ‘why’
“Nail salons are finally open so, of course, I went to go get my little nails painted. As usual, I chatted with the person who was next to me. We laughed about how all of ‘us’ have rushed to go get our nails done but her reason for doing it struck me right in my heart.”
‘She said, ‘It’s your dad. There’s something wrong. The cops said they found him on the ground.’ We still had so many questions.’: Woman details life with drug-addicted father, ‘I’m not mad at you’
“‘You need to stop what you’re doing or you’ll end up dead.’ I’d see him drive by with another woman. When my mom decided to divorce him, he didn’t show up. We stood at the court house and looked out the window from the top floor. The doctor approached my brother and I. ‘You have to make a decision to let him off the machines.’ We still had so many questions.”
‘No one will pick you, look at your history.’ ‘No one will let me adopt a baby after what I’ve done.’: Woman gets clean, adopts baby from foster care, ‘My past doesn’t define who I am’
“‘This isn’t the way I’m supposed to live my life.’ I wanted so badly to be a mom. ‘Who will ever marry someone like me?’ I remember thinking, ‘Who would let me raise their baby? I am an awful human being.’”
‘I remember saying the very words, ‘Not her.’ That was my breaking point. Hurt me, but not my sister. I threatened to tell my mommy what they did.’: After surviving abuse, cancer woman says ‘sometimes just having someone to talk to is enough’
“I tried to hide it from my parents but their child had changed and they knew something had happened. I walked onto the bridge with tears in my eyes. This is how I would do it. She watched me, and through the grace of God, decided she should call the police. This woman, I truly believe, was an angel.”
‘Something hard cracked over the back of my head. I could feel his fingers on my neck, checking for a pulse to see if he’d just committed murder.’: After surviving domestic abuse woman says ‘don’t stand by in silence’
“I woke up that morning and I just felt this bad feeling. I felt a searing pain. I remember dropping to my knees, the cat taking off, and my bag going flying. As darkness was taking over, I felt my body being flipped around. The last thing I saw before everything went black were C’s eyes looking down at me. It was my own personal horror story.”
‘It took an overdose to come to the conclusion I was not the young woman I was raised to be. Suddenly, everything began to click.’: Transgender man advocates for support in the ‘addicted trans community’
“I threw heavy flower pots through the glass front door and begged the police officer to shoot me. Sadly, the beast that is addiction took over. As terrifying as it was to unearth such a deep truth about myself, suddenly everything began to click. I began to recognize why I couldn’t stay sober for even an hour. I was not the woman I was raised to be.”
‘7 months pregnant with his baby, he offered me some meth. I went on a 4-day bender. I wasn’t strong enough to resist.’: Woman survives domestic abuse, says ‘I am living proof there can be a happy ending’
“Every time people saw me, there was another new bruise or broken bone. The night before Johnny gave me some meth and pills, CPS said they had to come and do an assessment. He immediately told the worker I had been ‘up doing drugs all night.’ That night was the beginning of the end.”
‘This boy is never going to be up for adoption. Don’t get too attached.’ It was too late. I was in love with him.’: Foster mom fights for her adoption journey, ‘This is what I waited for, prayed for’
“My daughter was 12 and I still wasn’t married. My hopes of having children dwindled away. Suddenly, the cutest little 3-month-old boy entered my life and instantly stole our hearts. ‘His aunt wants to adopt him.’ They dropped a bombshell on me. ‘I have been his mommy. Nobody else was there through the sleepless infant nights. It has been me all this time, loving him.’ I felt like my heart had been shattered.”
‘You’ll never get out of this hole. Just go back to your old friend, heroin.’ I spent the night in jail, tying bedsheets around my neck.’: Man who battled addiction 9 years now owner of state’s largest recovery center
“I put the sheet around my neck and waited. I just couldn’t let go. I could hear the voices in my head saying, ‘You can’t even do this right.’ When I was released from prison, my family wouldn’t take me in. After too many broken promises, they were done with me. I owed $33,000 in child support and $100,000 for my crimes. ‘You’re going to be okay.’ My prisonmates saved my life. They took me in when I was too far gone.”
