Rebecca Balfe is a former editor for Love What Matters. She resides in NYC, owning and rescuing adorable cats. She is an avid Lupus fighter and advocate.
‘My mom died without knowing what happened to me.’: Woman hides sexual abuse for entire life, loses mom
“He was always trying to get me to go places alone with him, bribing me with presents. Funny, he never did that for my brother.”
‘If I’m not in a relationship when I’m 30, I’m using a sperm donor!’ I never took it seriously.’: Single mom by choice pens journey, ‘I hope she’s proud to be my daughter’
“‘I thought I ‘d be married long before now!’ I had to mourn the life I thought I’d have.”
‘Were my jeans too tight? Should I have NEVER used tampons? We were not in control.’: LGBTQ mom shares journey to motherhood, urges ’embrace the suck and keep perspective’
“’We’re pregnant!’ Thank the LORD the lights were off so no one could see my tears. The concept of ‘deserving to be parents’ is a privilege too many take for granted.”
‘No, GOD NO!’ He was face up in the lake, in his dinosaur footie pajamas.’: Mom recounts son’s near drowning experience, ‘I cherish every second with him’
“My dad ran down to the lake saying, ‘NO BUDDY!’ There were SO many people around I couldn’t get to him. Another fire truck showed up, because my dad was also having a heart attack from the trauma.”
‘I felt incredibly optimistic, CERTAIN my old life would return. Boy, was I WRONG.’: Young woman battles Lyme Disease, turns to alternative medicine
“I was losing my vision, and could barely breathe. I spilled onto the platform packed with HUNDREDS of commuting New Yorkers.”
‘You CHOSE to have him!’ It was as if he was a patient and not my own baby.’: Mom battling postpartum depression urges ‘you are worthy of help’
“’This is supposed to be the HAPPIEST time in your life!’ I can’t do this AGAIN. I felt forgotten.”
‘Treating mental health is more a PRIVILEGE than a CHOICE.” Woman battle self worth urges, ‘Your circumstances don’t define you’
“Drowning your demons in a bottle is both cheaper and more accessible than a good doctor.”
‘You need to be the MAN of the house.’ I realized my life was no longer my own.’: Transgender woman finds self love, ‘I’m at peace with who I’ve become’
“‘You’ll NEVER look like a girl or have a feminine voice.’ She didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have on me.”
‘He kept trying to make me kiss him. I did it so he’d leave me alone.’: Woman escapes domestic abuse, ‘I strive to empower other women’
“I took on the role of a wife. I catered to him, cooked, cleaned, took care of my children, and took care of myself IF I had time.”
‘This moment will stick with me forever. She became REAL to me.’: Father to daughter born with limb difference creates fictional world ‘aiming to accurately represent disability’
“I wanted to fulfill the promise I made to my daughter. I wanted HER to be the hero.”