LJ Herman is a former editor at Love What Matters and lives in Colorado. LJ is a concert, ticket and technology enthusiast. He has seen the Dave Mathews Band over one hundred times and counting.
‘I met Dave in a pretty shady teen chat room. After 14 long years, I had my once in a lifetime experience.’: Woman shares roller-coaster, transatlantic, fairy tale online relationship
“After 10 lovely days together, I cried through the entire hour-long train ride from his flat to Heathrow Airport.”
‘I’m fine! I have it figured out!’ I struggled in secret as I hid behind my smile. I woke up in a suicide room.’: Woman shares her ADHD journey to make mental health ‘less secretive and stigmatized’
“My therapist couldn’t fit my hours. I didn’t bother finding a new one because, ‘I’m fine!’ Then, I hoped the floor would open up and I would just disappear. These awful, yellow, smiley hospital socks were staring up at me.”
‘We promised him he could die at home. Every mile felt like 100. I live with the ‘what-ifs.’: Widow recalls dying husband’s last journey with cancer, ‘I know he is free’
“Driving him home was an out of body experience. I have driven those interstates many times in the past, but never had I driven someone I love to die.”
‘It’s not remarkable to talk publicly about it. I don’t feel brave. We aren’t the ones who did something wrong.’: Mom and 2 daughters experience sexual assault, ‘All 3 of us are survivors’
“I don’t feel brave in sharing my story of sexual assault or the assault of our daughters. I feel afraid of what happens if we don’t. I’m claiming my story and revealing HIS shame.”
‘I woke up at 4 a.m. and shook Logan to wake up — this was it! He handed me his spoon to use and I sobbed.’: Couple share experience with PCOS, ‘It was something I’d never even heard of’
“When I was first diagnosed with PCOS, it was something I had never even heard of. I thought the doctor had to be wrong. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m guilty of keeping our secret for far too long.”
‘I see blood on me, but from where?! It’s 2:15 a.m. now, and I’m crying in the bathroom. I don’t like hurting out loud. What was this doing to us?’: Woman struggles with ‘mental hurricane’ during undiagnosed illness
“I’m scared.’ I shook and started crying from the sharp pains. My hand cramped up; I couldn’t open it anymore. ‘I’m here, and I got this, and I got you.'”
‘We’re so lucky your dad still has his job.’ I don’t know how we’ll do it another day, another week, another year.’: Mom of special needs son says ‘being his caregiver is a whole life job’
“Most children don’t depend on their parents for everything their entire lives. We always worry about illness. He’s nonverbal, cannot walk, has a feeding tube, and recently has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder. But then, I look at Christopher and smile.”
‘Even though your vacations may not look or go as you planned make it happen.’: Mom of special needs kids says ‘let go of your vacation expectations’
“I pulled my daughter off a 10-story ledge. I made sure my son was breathing. It was exhausting. As I relaxed on the beach in the shade with my feet up reading a book, I realized I needed to tell you something… vacations won’t look like the vacations from your childhood.”
‘I was talking with a friend. I take a deep breath. My 1, 4, and 6 year-olds couldn’t ‘intentionally manipulate’ me.’: Mom discusses the psychology behind children and food
“Fortunately, I DO have the ability. It had been a huge learning curve for my husband who was required to eat foods that make him gag. The brain is good at making associations.”
‘I heard, ‘One, two, three, four!’ I asked, ‘What are you counting?!’ The cord was wrapped around his neck four TIMES!’: After complicated birth, mom thankful for ‘miracle baby’
“‘You should buy a lottery ticket,’ they told me. I thought it was strange nothing was happening. The odds were definitely stacked against us. ‘Miracle baby,’ they called him.”