“I quit my job. I avoided a possible catastrophic marriage. Everything I’d kept bottled up was starting to surface. I didn’t have much courage under my belt, but I was still brave.”
‘This isn’t for me. I quit.’ The pressure lifted from my chest. I was free to forge my own path.’: Woman deletes social media on healing journey, ‘I started a clean slate’
‘You drive me to drink. I wish I never had you!’ It was a nightmare. We suffered in silence.’: Abuse and bullying survivor urges, ‘Be kind to one another’
“My own mother said, ‘You’re a mistake’ to me and my sisters. I started self-harming and fell into a deep depression. I actually believed what I’d been told.”
‘After watching the Disney movie, our 8-year-old daughter couldn’t sleep. My heart ached for her.’: Parents encourage daughter’s empathy, ‘We will not toughen her up’
“At 2 a.m. this morning, as my daughter snuggled into me, I told her stories about bunnies, fields of flowers… Nothing worked. We are protective about what our tender-hearted children see. We are cautious. When I was 9, I watched a movie that traumatized me around the same age. We will not toughen her up.”
‘I’ve had my accounts hacked. I’ve had my words twisted and changed to reflect me as a horrible person. I feel stronger.’: Woman who was hacked says ‘never give up’
“A boyfriend of years left me for another girl. I grabbed my phone and I wrote while my baby gnawed on my nipples.”
‘On the plane ride home from my summer vacation in Mexico, my face went numb. ‘Maybe it’s just the high elevation?’ Soon, I couldn’t feel the right side of my body.’: Young single mom diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis graduates college
“The doctor told me, ‘There is no cure. You will have this for the rest of your life.’ Then, I noticed I was 3 weeks late for my period. I’d just been diagnosed with an incurable disease and now I was pregnant all at the age of 20?! My baby’s father said, ‘I want to live the life of an average 21-year-old, just not with you in it.’ My life changed in the blink of an eye.”
‘I felt the right side of my face go numb. ‘I’m sorry, we found some lesions on your brain.’ At just 20 years old, I was in shock.’: Young woman with multiple sclerosis says ‘I have lots of life left to live’
“I awoke to use the restroom. I tried to get up using my right arm, but I couldn’t. Then I tried to stand, but I couldn’t. ‘Catherine, what’s wrong?!’ I couldn’t get any words out. I finally said, ‘I can’t move my right side,’ in between sobs.”
‘She’s carrying a real baby in there? And she can’t see?!’ I’m a woman with a guide dog and a chunky baby strapped to me.’: Blind mother urges ‘be kind with your words’
“I’ve been out today once and heard it all in the space of twenty minutes. Masks don’t muffle your voice as much as you think.”
‘The letter said, ‘I’m your daughter. Can you meet me?’ She’s the secret that ate away at me for 18 years.’: Birth mom reunites with daughter, shares healing journey
“This amazing human I had given birth to was a complete stranger.”
‘She chose US for her baby!’ He had to stay in NICU indefinitely. We were dumped at a stranger’s doorstep.’: Single mom taken in by strangers after adopting baby with Down syndrome
“I was single, had no mom to help me, and was staying with complete strangers. We had 6 kids between us at the house, one husband, and a baby at the NICU. I needed a PLAN.”
‘I married a man who knows how to love a mother. He prayed over me and our babes even before we knew our first child’s name.’: Woman tells husband ‘thank you for loving us so well’
“He’s coached me through my hardest days. He’s cheered me on through labor pains. For all the shared chores, for all the date nights we keep. For all the kids’ giggles, being my best friend, and supporting me every day. My life is so much better.”
