“I remember the night he came home. I barely knew a handful of words. He had been told not to call me mom because I was not blood-related. It was not easy, but we grew together.”
‘Is he your son?’ I nodded and waited for the disbelief. He just smiled. ‘I could tell. You look like best friends.’: Woman documents foster care journey, ‘Family runs deeper than blood’
‘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 will never forget the look on my parent’s faces. ‘I wish I could take this pain away from you.’ All I wanted was my baby.’: Mom recalls shock of infant’s stroke and seizures, ‘He is still perfect and he is all mine’
“I just wanted some chocolate milk. Upon returning from the cafeteria I see a man I do not recognize standing over my son. What’s wrong? Who is this guy? Why is he here? He was a respiratory therapist. Ian had had his first seizure. He had quit breathing.”
‘You MUST have your camera on to receive credit.’ I asked to turn it off to breastfeed my daughter.’: Student shamed for needing to breastfeed, ‘This is a child, not a phone’
“His response was, ‘You shouldn’t be doing inappropriate things during class. Do that on your own time.’ I was hurt and humiliated.”
‘We don’t punish our children. No more punitive punishment, no more shame, no more control.’: Couple urges parents to try connected parenting, ‘We’ve experienced more trust with our children’
“Isn’t a part of our parenting toolbox, but it used to be.”
‘Why me? What did I do to deserve it? ‘Even with all these questions, I want you to know I forgive you.’: Man pens powerful open letter to bullies, ‘You still have the power to change’
“Dear Bullies, I want you to know what you did to me was and never will be okay.”
‘You have 5 years to live.’ It was the first time I ever saw my husband cry.’: Mother diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer advocates for research, encourages ‘camaraderie and healing’
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34. I was upset, but I wasn’t surprised. I thought it was completely normal, as I had never been to a breast health clinic before.”
‘At some point, the laughter stops. Then comes the heartaches, the lows. Find someone who will see your ugly, and sit in the silence with you.’: Woman shares ‘ultimate relationship test’
“Sometimes I don’t need ‘cheering up.’ When the curtain closes and the house is empty, I need someone who will stick around through the ugly, and sit in silence with me.”
‘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.”
‘My biology teacher said, ‘You’re lying. There’s no way you’d be alive without a pancreas.’ I held back tears, mortified. She accused me of my disease not being real.’: Diabetic woman details journey, ‘Our stories need to be heard’
“She tried to embarrass me in front of the class. ‘You’re wrong. I know what was done to my body.’ The room grew quiet as I sat there in shock. She accused me of my disease not being real. I knew right then and there I needed to make a change.”