“I quickly realized I wasn’t in a drug-induced haze. We then had 7 children inside a 3-bedroom house with 2.5 bathrooms. Showering required a schedule, and toilet usage was always something to fight for. We were cramped, we were on top of each other, BUT we were having a freaking blast! Ya’ll, it gets better. Two weeks later, my husband tells me he wants to quit his job. Sure, Nathan. Let’s adopt of bunch of kids, and use my stay-at-home mom salary to feed them. Genius plan.”
‘I want to adopt them all.’ I’d just come home from a breast cancer scare, and thought it was the Valium talking.’: Couple adopts teen daughter, wife ‘floored’ when husband declares he wants to adopt her younger brothers too, now living happily with 7 kids
‘Divorce isn’t an option. 19-year-old bride, you begin slowly dying. You feel so trapped.’: Young woman feels ‘shame’ for wanting to end ‘picture perfect’ marriage, but had to ‘save’ herself
“‘I met the man I’m going to marry,’ you told your friends. You’re 19 when you first lay eyes on him. From the moment you learn he’s going to be a pastor, you know this is the life for you. Neither of you knew what you were signing up for. You thought if you found a Christian man, one willing to wait to have sex until marriage, life will be perfect. Now, you flinch when touched.”
‘I’m done talking. I’m turning off my phone for a few days. Bye.’ Josh had broken the covenant. I would wait it out.’: Wife says she and husband are ‘closer than we’ve ever been’ after his infidelity
“My husband was supposed to be home after work and he was late. I called a few times. No answer. He finally called back and in the most emotionless voice said, ‘Ashley, we have to be done.’ ‘What?’…shocked. He said it again. I yelled, ‘What? Whyyy?!’ He was leaving to be with someone else.”
‘One second. One stoplight. I heard him yell. There were no flashing lights, no warning signs. I kept praying he’d just open his eyes.’ Little boy dies 3 times, meets mother’s miscarried babies while in coma
“‘Landon, do you know where your dad is?’ He looked me in the eyes. ‘Yes, I do. He’s in heaven. I saw your other kids there, too.’ I knew what he was talking about, but how did he know? I had two miscarriages before he was born. We never told him. He was only 8 years old.”
‘I was the victim of a rape. I had a professor who propositioned me, a boyfriend who passed away, a stalker, and cancer—twice. I’m no stranger to a painful past.’
“Easter is about waiting. I know, that sounds absurd. This is a holiday about a Friday free from work and fake grass you’ll be finding around your house for the remainder of the year. It’s about Peeps and your people. A guy on a cross and a guy in a (rather scary) bunny suit. Jesus waited 3 days; it took me 33 years.”
‘I bought every plaid skirt I could find, because Cher wore plaid skirts in ‘Clueless.’ I shopped at Express and pretended to like the movie ‘She’s All That.’
“When I was in junior high, I wore Tommy Hilfiger polos, Dr. Martens and I doused myself in CK One perfume, because everyone else was. I had no idea who I was. I became a continual copy-cat, and it continued into adulthood. I didn’t know any other way to be. I was exhausted.”
‘I wouldn’t even let you watch my DOG,’ the attorney said to me. I lost custody of my firstborn, my baby girl. I began sobbing. Then WOW, a miracle happened.’
“I had already seen my daughter, at 2 years old, my ‘angel baby,’ be taken over by this ‘STRANGER.’ Now here I am, years later with my son. I began to see this ‘stranger’ steal another one of my baby’s personalities. I had always looked forward to motherhood. BUT THIS?! Why my babies?!”
‘He had been having an affair. Not only had he been having an affair, but he ‘loved’ this other woman. My husband was my rock.’: Woman overcomes affair to have ‘miracle’ baby
“My husband had a vasectomy and we paid an absurd amount of money to get it reversed. He ‘loved’ this other woman and didn’t think he and I should stay together. We were approached about a pregnant woman looking for an adoptive family for her baby. It took several days of hard prayer on my knees and begging my husband, but he agreed to not see this other woman while we went through some counseling.”
‘You know what I don’t remember about my childhood Christmases? I don’t remember anything being especially decorated.’
“I don’t remember Pottery Barn centerpieces or monogrammed stockings. I don’t remember Pinterest-worthy trees or anything that would make one declare, ‘That is so precious. I must Instagram it immediately.’ That all might have been there. But if it was, I don’t remember.”
‘How much will it take to make this man drool?’ Prostitution sounds like an okay option. Pole dancing looks fun too. Why not? These were serious questions I was asking myself at 17.’
“My life seemed to have no worth. I tried to avoid being home at all costs. The next week I made the phone call that would change the course of my life. It was a crazy idea and I knew it.”
