“As I stood in front of him, he said my scars showed my strength. I couldn’t believe it. For so long, I’d let my illness make me feel like I deserved less. I realized I could do anything with him by my side.”
‘Just wait until he sees you in the hospital. He’ll definitely run.’ I never thought he’d love me back. He held my hand and took care of me.’: Liver transplant recipient shares powerful love story
‘Ew, what are those?’ I was ashamed of myself. I constantly tried to hide my scars. What was I doing wrong?’: Woman shares struggles with keloid scars, ‘They’re my beauty marks’
“Right after brushing my teeth, I put on a bunch of toothpaste all over my face, chest, and back. I was a minty mess. I hid in high cut shirts and makeup. Anxiety became my best friend.”
‘Starved for love, I made disastrous decisions. Eventually, I turned to food. I weighed in at 391 pounds, my body just as unhealthy as my soul.’: Survivor details battle with demons, ‘I am a beautiful disaster’
“Frozen in fear, you lay in your bed with that twisted knot in your stomach. There is always the question: who protected the little girl with the big, brown eyes? The answer? A resounding no one. I was a little girl.”
‘I’d stepped out of a 5-minute shower. ‘What are those purple things, mama?’ Her question stopped me in my tracks.’: Mom says ‘you’d never be the mother you are today without each tear in your roadmap’
“They were always something I had tried to hide. I tried my best to explain them to her curious 5-year-old heart. Her big, wet hug let me know that although her age only equaled the number of fingers on her tiny hands, she understood.”
‘Why would you do this to yourself? This is just bizarre.’ It’s hard to look in the mirror and see the damage I’ve done.’: Woman shares her history of self-mutilation and bulimia
“Sometimes I’d hit a vein and the blood would shoot out in an arc, creating stripes across the mirror and pouring into the sink. I was cutting away everything seemingly imperfect. Pulling out little threads which turned out to be nerves, partially paralyzing my lower lip and bits of my chin. I still didn’t stop.”
‘He bribed me to kiss him like lovers do. He had to ‘teach me.’ He did things fathers should never do to their daughters.’: Child abuse survivor encourages others, ‘Be free. You deserve it.’
“My father would permit himself to watch me as I took showers. My father had to ‘teach me’ so when I started dating, I would be ‘prepared.’ I froze in disbelief. The fear of sending my father back to jail was far worse than speaking up of the wrongdoings. Who else would support my family and me? I wanted to scream, ‘I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!’ I can’t emphasize enough YOU are not alone. I was stronger than I thought. You are now in a safe place.”
‘Your wife had a serious head trauma. She may not make it.’ I was covered with tubes and he lost it.’: Woman survives horrific car accident, gets married the same date of accident a year later to ‘redeem the day’
“3 weeks after getting engaged, I was T-boned by a Mac truck. ‘If this continues, we’ll lose her.’ He lost it. As he entered the room, he noticed my engagement ring had been removed. I was covered with tubes. He expected to recognize me. He didn’t. He held my hand and told me I was beautiful. ‘I want to marry you today more than I did the day I proposed,’ he told me.”
‘I heard one of them whisper ‘Oh no, look at his chest.’ So, I walked over.’: Mom confronts strangers who were staring at young son’s scars
“Tonight, a group of passerbys saw Finn playing in the sand. At first they saw his back, blonde hair, sun-kissed skin and the sweetest little baby butt. They were all smiles, ‘oos and ahs.’ Then he turned around, and they saw his chest. An immediate look of concern hit their faces. I’m not sure what came over me.”
‘I have the perfect body. I really do.’: Mom shamelessly celebrates ‘thick, swollen’ body after multiple pregnancies, admits it’s ‘pretty darn incredible’
“My breasts are downward, swollen, and veiny, but they’ve supplied 4,560 meals. My thighs are speckled with cellulite, but they’ve walked 1.8 million steps carrying a toddler or pushing a stroller. My stomach is a big white balloon ready to pop, but my babies lived and thrived in it for 27 months. My arms are twice as thick, but they’ve rocked a newborn to sleep 1,200 times. And that happens to be pretty freaking awesome.”
‘You look like a snake. You’ll never get a boyfriend.’ I made up my mind the whole human race was beautiful, and I was ugly.’: Woman survives 4th degree burns after ‘hide and seek’ game gone wrong, learns to embrace unique beauty
“My friend invited me to a local nightclub. Before I knew it, I was dancing with someone and their hands were rubbing up and down my back. He whispered in my ear, ‘Are you wearing a corset?’ That scared the absolute life out of me. It was my scars, once a gaping hole through my back, and he could feel them through my clothing.”
