“Right after I turned 21, I got pregnant with my boyfriend of 2 months. We decided to keep the baby. I started abusing pills and continued breastfeeding while taking them. I told myself, ‘It can’t REALLY affect her through my breast milk.’ Her dad was smoking heroin. I’d pawn my daughter off on whoever would take her. Paying her dad to take her so I was free to do what I wanted. My daughter would wake up in the morning to find random strangers in the house. I thank God she was too little to remember any of that.”
‘My dad begged, ‘PLEASE ASHLEY, do this for me.’ It broke me. I had to put an end to this.’: Young mom celebrates 2 years clean, meets husband in recovery, ‘I would’ve NEVER imagined this’
‘Cody is homeless. I have not heard from him in weeks now.’: Mom shares heartbreaking, frightening before and after photos of her meth, heroin-addicted son
“This is my first-born child. These pictures were taken 7 months apart. That is how fast someone is affected. The face of heroin and meth. Cody, if you see this, please call us… we love you!”
‘His hands are connected at his chest.’ We were in disbelief. He must have been making a mistake.’: Mom says son born with limb difference is ‘perfect’ despite differences, ‘We believe in miracles’ for his future
“My first glimpse of him was from a picture my husband had taken. His hands were at his chest, his legs were curled up tightly in a little yoga pose. He had 10 sweet fingers and toes, and I was in love. We were both in shock, the panic over doing what was best for him was all I could think about. The nurse put him on my chest. He was so tiny, and beautiful, despite looking ‘different.'”
‘I loved my older cousin. At 8, I learned the only way to be friends with him was to have sex with him.’: Daughter and mother in addiction recovery together after years of childhood trauma, ‘If that isn’t wonderful, I don’t know what is’
“I remember the bright red carpet in his closet. This ongoing ‘event’ became our secret, I held onto this secret for close to 15 years. I never got over what happened to me, I stuffed it so far down. This has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. I finally surrendered. I had enough. I needed to give myself a chance to live.”
‘I hope that’s not his stroller! Is it?!’ Of course it is! There’s no reason my son can’t play with a baby doll.’: Mom ‘proud’ of son for caring for his baby dolls like a real-life daddy
“I was caught off guard. ‘Why don’t you give him a sibling or a dog to play with instead of a doll?’ There’s no reason my son can’t play with babies or dolls or anything deemed ‘too girly.’ Why? Because one day, my son may choose to become a father. You’re not going to tell your adult son he’s too ‘manly’ to change his newborn child’s diaper, are you?! Doubt it.”
‘Ma’am, I’m sorry but your husband is deceased.’ The officer found drug paraphernalia. My world crashed.’: Husband leaves wife, toddler behind after fatal overdose
“When I met Danny, I had this crazy premonition one night. I said to myself, ‘This is going to be a tragedy at some point.’ Fast forward 3 years later and he was dead. The last time I saw my husband was that Saturday morning. He gave me a hug and said, ‘I love you babe.’ He left and never came back. He was found in his vehicle.”
‘My daughter fled 300 miles from her abuser, stopped at a gas station, and never came home.’: Mom loses daughter to domestic violence, ‘he was only charged for drugs, but we’re living a life sentence without our sweet girl’
“My daughter met her abuser in rehab. He was 41, 19 years older than her. Our first reaction to the abuse was to pack up her stuff and get her away from him. ‘Please give me time,’ she begged. She wanted out badly, but feared the repercussions. Reluctantly, we all agreed. Little did any of us know this would be our biggest regret. My poor baby was found with finger marks around her throat 2 weeks later.”
‘The officer asked, ‘If you’re a nurse, why are you with a junkie?’ They searched for ‘evidence.’ My person was gone.’: Woman says love of her life died of addiction because of ‘shame, stigma’ surrounding the disease
“I baked cheddar scones — they were Jared’s favorite. I took a nap. When I awoke, it was dark outside, and he wasn’t in the house. He said he’d gone out for air. When he came back, he went straight to the bathroom, yelling at me to ‘mind my own business.’ He never talked to me like this. His voice dripped with anger. I don’t know why, but I listened. I got in my car. When I came back, the washing machine was running. He’d started my laundry. I walked through the kitchen and that’s when I saw him face down in our living room.”
‘I remember the feeling of doom. ‘Welcome Class of 2011!’ I brought heroin to make it through the weekend.’: Addicted son gets sober on dad’s birthday, father says his sobriety was the ‘best present I ever gave him’
“My dad came home and went directly upstairs with cash he’d taken out of his bank account for Christmas gifts. I stood perfectly still downstairs listening to the creaky wooden floor while counting his footsteps as he entered his bedroom. I snuck into his room, retraced his footsteps, found the envelope, and stole the money he was going to use for Christmas. I was thrown out. All my bridges were burned.”
‘I could stop if I wanted to.’ Famous last words. My mom dreaded seeing my car in the driveway.’: Recovering addict says she’s a girl ‘who spent every day wanting to die,’ but now ‘just wants to live’
“At 19, I was dating a guy who sold drugs. We were at the mall when I felt a cold chill come over my body. It wasn’t something I was familiar with. I knew people who ‘had’ to use drugs to feel normal – I was not one of them. I wasn’t that bad off. ‘If you lived the life I’ve lived, you’d get high, too,’ I justified. I told my boyfriend I didn’t feel well. He looked at me. ‘You’re going through withdrawal.’ This moment changed everything.”
