“I started dieting and skipping meals. ‘I’ll be happy when I’m skinny.’ I wore a pair of those sucking-in underwear to make sure I felt thin. I felt squished. I realized I looked absolutely no different without them, but I felt a million times better. I’ve never worn a pair since.”
‘What are you wearing? You look like a clown!’ I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I vowed to never be ‘too much’ again.’: Woman shares self-love journey, ‘I finally feel like ME’
‘I got a life-altering call. ‘Can you come pick up your nephew?’ He was born with drugs in his system. No one warned us about the toll.’: Couple adopts nephew, ‘Our house is his forever home’
“She’d been sneaking Bailey’s into her coffee cup while breastfeeding. He’d cry and bang in his crib until he formed a bump on his head. We transitioned from being ‘aunt and uncle’ to ‘mom and dad.’”
To The Kind Strangers On My Flight Who Lifted My Burden
“I was just a military wife solo parenting, trying to survive while my husband was in a war zone.”
‘She’s losing a LOT of blood.’ They took me, leaving my partner and baby behind, not knowing if I’d see them again.’: Mom survives post-birth hemorrhage, ‘Doctors and midwives saved my life’
“My husband saw them rushing with blood for my transfusion. They didn’t update him. He assumed the worst had happened.”
‘You won’t remember Christmas, but I hope you remember how special we made you feel.’: Mom shares heartfelt letter to non-verbal son
“You don’t understand the burly man in a red suit, the great food, or the little baby sitting in a manger. On Christmas Day, I’ll take pictures in hopes you will one day look at them and remember. That you’ll remember I tried. I pray one day you’ll be able to communicate what you’re feeling. I’ll wait an eternity if it takes that long.”
‘The pain became unbearable. ‘I know someone who’s healed people through acupressure.’ I FINALLY felt at home.’: Woman details holistic health journey, ‘It gifted me my life back’
“She said, ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’ I went to her house every day for 4 months. She made me feel normal and helped me understand my gifts. I realized I am FAR more capable than I’d originally thought.”
‘Now I’ll be taken seriously.’ I had bruises everywhere and my hair was falling out. I took laxatives every day. I’d gone too far.’: Woman shares eating disorder recovery, ‘Hope is stronger’
“I wasn’t eating anything anymore. All I consumed was 25 cans of Coke Zero a day. I’d sit and wait until the day was over to see if I had lost more weight. I was about to kick my boyfriend out of my life to isolate myself and make more room for anorexia.”
‘I started preparing for another childless Christmas. I got a text. ‘Are you still interested in adopting?’ My heart stopped.’: Couple adopts after infertility battle, ‘It felt like a dream’
“I told everyone a little one would join our family before Christmas. As we sat around the table, it hit me I might just be wrong. I was standing in the kitchen with my family, saying our goodbyes when I got a text from our agency. Now my heart was beating faster than ever.”
‘I knew I was going to die. That night, my phone rang. ‘You’re not alone.’ I didn’t even know him, but he saved my life.’: Paramedic shares journey with addiction, ‘You are HUMAN and SO worthy’
“My 31st birthday came. I kept all the receipts so I could return the gifts and give everyone their money back. No one knew this, but I was going to die in 4 days. I was prepared. I was the calmest I’d felt in years.”
‘All babies are different,’ he assured us. I was a new mom. I didn’t have any basis for comparison. With just a few words, my heart shattered.’: Mom shares son’s autism diagnosis, ‘I follow his lead’
“It hit us like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, everything I envisioned for my child’s life went out the window. Going through life being different from everyone else seemed impossible.”