“I walked around the venue, trying to find a spot in the crowd. Then, we heard it. ‘GUN!’ Screams erupted. My friend and I shared a mutual look of terror before breaking into a sprint. Adrenaline carried us. Police officers ran towards us, guns pulled. ‘Keep your heads down!’ In the end? It was a popped water bottle. But I will remember it as if it were real because, in that moment, it was.”
‘He looked me straight in the eyes and muttered a single word: RUN.’: Crowd of thousands mistake popped water bottle for gunshot, woman claims mass shootings have us all ‘living in fear’
‘I ran inside and found my sweet boy gashed up. Grandmom was rocking him, absolutely horrified.’: Mom warns parents to be ‘vigilant’ of pets around children after dog attack leaves infant son in stitches
“My husband’s parents explained they were letting the dogs outside, had their back turned for just one second, and my oldest son came on the porch yelling for them. They ran in and found the lamp laying on the floor next to my son, bleeding. Later that night, people messaged me questioning the type of wounds my son had. I hadn’t thought much of it until others pointed out how much it looked like a dog had attacked him. The doctors agreed. By this time, my son’s eyes were swollen shut.”
‘The look on his face told me everything. He said 3 letters that changed my life. ‘D.O.A.’ Dead on arrival.’: Young woman feels ‘overwhelming guilt’ after roommate dies from heroin overdose, finally gets clean
“My ex and I got into an argument. I remember looking at him, and it hit me. I was looking at a stranger. I didn’t know who I was. I pleaded for God to give me a sign. Moments later, I heard sirens. I knew they were coming to our house. I looked out the window and saw 2 firetrucks screeching to a stop. I ran downstairs as fast as I could towards the pounding on the door. Before I could get a word out, the man told me, ‘We got a call that someone has overdosed.'”
‘I never got sick as a kid. Until the itching started. Then the horrible, red rash covering my 8-year-old self.’: Touching moment woman realizes her mom was the real ‘cure’ for her Scarlet Fever
“Not even my mom could deny there was actually something wrong with me. She rushed my calamine-soaked body to the doctor. My eyes got as big as sand dollars and my life flashed before my eyes. The only time I had ever heard of a Scarlet Fever diagnosis was on an episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ I didn’t know what to do. So, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment. I cried. My mom slid into the bed next to me.”
‘You don’t belong here and your color is awful!,’ a child said to my 5-year-old African American son on his first day of school.’: Mom worries for her adopted children at school this year, says despite ‘all the goodness, there is hurt’
“Before he even stepped foot into his new classroom, a child on the playground came up to him. At age 5, my son had to come home and tell our family this as we sat around the dinner table. I had to look away so he wouldn’t see my tears.”
‘I gave birth, my life was complete. 3 days later, a stray bullet crashed through our window, striking my husband.’ Widow finds love after loss with old friend, hopes her son knows how ‘truly loved’ he is by ‘both of his dads’
“Our backyard neighbor squeezed the trigger. The bullet traveled over 200 yards to our home, crashed through our back window, and continued across our living room. My postpartum body was weak, but I dragged myself to Justin’s side. Overnight, I became a shell of the person I once was. Later, my friend tried to set me up on a date. ‘Will he think I don’t love Justin anymore?’ We immediately hit it off. ‘Hey Jess,’ he said, ‘It’s so good to see you.’ I hope my son will grow up to be like both of my husbands.”
‘Jack, you were a child. You don’t need to punish yourself.’ In that moment, everything changed.’: Child sexual abuse survivor battles OCD and addiction, woman’s compassion helps him heal
“‘Prepare for the worst. He’s not going to make it to the weekend.’ My mom was right. The next day, her friend walked in on me in the bathroom. I’d been washing my hands for 2 hours straight. They were cracked open, bleeding. ‘Can we talk?’ For the first time in my life, I opened up about my trauma. I spared no detail as I scoured my brain for buried memories. ‘You don’t need to live like this,’ she said. We both burst into tears.”
‘I promise to choose you. You kept giving me more chances. I won’t make the wrong one again.’: Couple overcomes addiction, ‘mystery pneumonia,’ almost facing life as single parents to now celebrate 10-year anniversary
“The tears were streaming down my face as I faced this man, the love of my life, my soulmate. Our marriage hasn’t been easy. It hasn’t even been hard. It was impossible. I spent years in a haze of prescription drugs, lying, manipulation and selfishness. I broke the law, put my children in danger, stole money from church and our personal account to fund my addiction. He had no choice but to take our 3 children and leave.”
‘I always longed for a BFF, the kind you see in movies, attached at the hip. That never happened for me.’: 33-year-old woman finally learns to accept being an ‘introvert’
“Truth is, I’ve always been bad at socializing. Getting together for a quick dinner? Um, cue me doing a 20-minute assessment: ‘Do I have the energy to put on real clothes? Am I in the mood to talk? How much will this take out of me?’ I feel a twinge of guilt, mingled with FOMO, when I browse social media and see big group pics of all ‘the girls’ hanging out. I feel a stab of panic because honestly, I’m not sure that will ever be me.”
‘But how will they function in the REAL world?!’ People judge us for homeschooling our kids. Truth is, they already are.’: Mom places children in homeschool after relentless bullying, claims they went from ‘depressed shells of humans’ to ‘thriving’
“After a long year of our kids feeling burnt out, bullied, and unsupported at their private school, we made the difficult choice to bring them home. I wish I could say it was an easy transition or that it immediately felt like the right choice. If I’m being honest, it felt like the only choice. They struggled to go to school each day and their passion for learning dwindled. We knew we had to act fast. So, we dove right in, grieving the life we were leaving behind.”
