“That split-second decision and that appointment Halloween day would soon change the course of our lives forever.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘My mom was due for her annual mammogram, but her doctor reassured her it wasn’t really necessary. She was a low risk patient. But my mom thought, ‘I might as well.’’
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I love you so much for everything you’ve done for me over the past 40 years. Now it’s time for me to show you my love. A love I prayed to God I’d never have to show you.’
“I hope one day you can understand the reason why my husband and I did what we did. In your right mind, you would never want your child, or any child, to be in the situation your beautiful boy was in.”
By LJ Herman -
40 years ago my parents were asked if they would have an exchange student. I wonder if they knew the doors it would open to all of us?
“I look back with such wonder and appreciation of who my parents are. I will forever be in awe of the way they live their life.”
By Eliza Murphy -
We were texting. I said, ‘We’ll talk later.’ My later didn’t go the way I planned. ‘Your sister was in an accident. Her car was hit by a train. She didn’t make it.’
“My momma was on the phone screaming. My sister is HER BABY. My daddy. I’ve got to get to my daddy. Where are my brothers? Do they know? What do I do? Is this real? MY sister?”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘When he first joined our family after losing both of his parents, these two were BEST friends. Lately though? They fight like cats and dogs. They are SO mean to each other.’
“They got along so well it felt like a fairy tale. But things quickly took a huge spiral downwards. My husband and I laid in bed going, ‘What in the world is happening right now? Why are they fighting so much?'”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I had finally been found out. The wails coming from my hysterical sister’s mouth were horrific. I had just confessed my truth.’
“There was another unfamiliar feeling sprouting through the cracks of my bruised and battered psyche. That feeling was hope. I didn’t have to be this monster anymore. I didn’t have to hustle to find my fix and I didn’t ever have to use again if I didn’t want to, I finally had a choice.”
By LJ Herman -
‘When I was 12 years old, my older sister died by suicide. She was my whole world. This year alone I’ve had over 20 suicide attempts.’
“I had Bell’s Palsy. I was severely bullied. I would go around at lunch asking to sit with people, and every group would tell me no. I would sit by the trashcans and get food thrown at me.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I was petrified. I climbed the metal ladder and saw my daughter lying face down on her bed, grey and purple, with her fingers clenched closed, struggling to breathe.’
“‘Please Mom, don’t do that, you’ll kill yourself,’ my son pleaded. He was right. The ladder was too far from the window. If I fell and killed myself, no one could use the Narcan.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘The cops yelled we couldn’t be there. I told him frantically, ‘This is my house. I live here.’ I demanded to know what happened. ‘Your mom is dead.’ He told me bluntly.’
“Mom left us a note. She said she was not ok and didn’t want to be burden on us anymore. She said she was so sorry and to please not hate her. She told us she loved us.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘Immediately after the judge said, ‘You may kiss the bride’, we heard a THUD. We looked down and saw my sister on the floor.’
“It took a moment to clock what had happened. Everyone was stunned. My sister kept screaming that she’d ruined our wedding.”
By Eliza Murphy -
