“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’
‘Mom! You have gray hair!’ I’d pluck them. I believed my best days had passed and felt rooted in shame.’: Woman goes on self-love journey, ‘My beauty is more than my hair’
“People said my 22-year-old daughter and I looked like sisters, and I thought I was giving that up. I decided I was grateful to be the age I was because aging is not a privilege everyone gets.”
‘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.”
‘I’d go to yoga high as a kite. I shared needles with everyone. It eventually caught up to me, and I got sick.’: Yoga instructor celebrates 8 years sober, ‘I manifested my life’’
“My boyfriend broke up with me because I couldn’t stay sober. I got evicted. All my dreams faded away as I got deeper into my addiction. I realized there had to be a bigger meaning to my life.”
‘The nurse came in as I was flailing. ‘I don’t want to go!’ The ambulance thought I was 80, not 8.’: Woman celebrates 20 years brain tumor free, ‘My hope is to give back’
“My parents sat me down and told me I was going to need surgery. An 8-year-old, I cried and cried. I didn’t want to go in. When I woke in the recovery room, I learned it couldn’t be removed. We were devastated.”
‘His opinions became my own. ‘You need to figure out who you are.’ I was terrified of being alone.’: After toxic relationship, woman turns to yoga, ‘I finally know who I am’
“‘What did I do wrong?’ It took many years to learn about that question. To say I was crushed is an understatement. I was numb. My ex-boyfriend was trying to teach me all along. Be selfish.”
‘When are you going to adopt me?’ His bio mom would coach him on our calls. She made up elaborate lies.’’: Mom adopts stepson as a teen, ‘When love is there, nothing can break you’
“’Who is that?’ I asked. ‘My son. If it’s a deal breaker, let me know.’ His bio mom would answer the phone at 6 p.m. and say, ‘Josiah is eating breakfast and going to school.’ She thought it was 6 a.m. when it was actually 6 p.m. She made up elaborate lies.”
‘My anxiety feels unmanageable.’ I feel my entire body get tight. I get incredibly tense, from my legs to my head.’: Autism mom explains anxiety during COVID-19, ‘Lack of control can feel paralyzing’
“I get defensive about anything and everything. I immediately feel like everything is my fault and there is no way I can be enough. I turn into someone who is unrecognizable to the people who know me, as I’m simply the worst version of myself.”
‘Someone told me, you must find a way to love the virus.’ I was close to telling him to f*ck off.’: HIV positive man focuses on his health and self-love, ‘I face the future with much more love than fear.’
“‘Everything happens for a reason.’ I would be single and alone forever. ‘Who will want me if I have HIV?’ A friend from the choir said, ‘I am HIV positive, too, I can help you out.’”
‘I went from a 3,000 square-foot house to a little hotel room with nothing. I found out the hard way.’: Mom learns to live in minimalism after house fire forces her to realize what’s important
“The single lone hair tie. You baby it. You put it back on your arm after you get out of the shower. You make sure it’s with you when you head to yoga class. That hair tie is your entire freaking life. Then I threw my – should have washed it yesterday – hair into a quick ponytail and a light went off.”
