‘Let them just hold their baby.’ He looked different. I’m filled with gratitude for her compassion.’: Couple learns of newborn’s rare genetic syndrome, encourages others to see ‘grace’ in their journey

“As we calmly talked on that moon-lit drive, my husband said something to me I’ll never forget. He broke a short silence. ‘If anyone would be trusted with a special-needs child, it would be you. You have the grace and patience to do this.’ I’m overjoyed knowing we’ve been included in an elite club.”

‘The police said, ‘If she gets caught using drugs, THEN it’s our problem.’ My sister was missing and vulnerable. I just wanted her back.’: Woman searches 20 years for addicted sister, ‘In looking for her, I lost myself’

“I heard my mother shout, ‘Your sister is missing! We have no idea where she is!’ I got on the next plane, determined to find her myself. Because of her mental state and drug addiction, it didn’t seem to matter to others. We were told, ‘Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.’”

‘Any idea what this charge is?’ It was a purchase from Tiffany’s. ‘I am seeing someone.’: Woman recalls messy custody battle after husband’s affair, ‘I saw how little I meant to him’

“He had been acting weird for the last few months. I thought he was going through a mid-life crisis. I felt invisible. I found a letter in his pocket addressed to me. ‘I’m forced to resign my role as your loving husband.’ I felt like the Hulk and wanted a car to throw or a building to smash. I felt like a shell of a person.”

‘I have a 16-day-old baby girl in the NICU ready to be discharged.’ We fell head over heels in love.’: After battling infertility and infant loss, couple adopts their ‘forever daughter’

“We received a call from our agency. ‘She will need an adoptive home if the placement falls through.’ We had agreed we would not take another infant. NO WAY would we put ourselves in a situation to experience infant loss… AGAIN. We were in awe of this little bundle that God was entrusting us with, for however much time he had planned.”

‘My aunt said, ‘I hope you grow up and not sideways.’ I was the ‘fat kid’ and my father was disgusted with me.’: Woman learns to embrace plus-size body, ‘Fat is not a dirty word’

“School bullies loved to remind me of how worthless I was. I became the punchline to every joke. The word ‘fat’ was used as a weapon. I quickly learned I needed to find a man to validate me. That if I got married and made babies,  then I could justify my existence. I was so tunnel-visioned I ignored red flags.”

‘He said he ‘knew what I had done.’ My clothes were all thrown on the floor. My boyfriend was kicking me out.’: Woman escapes abusive ex with bi-polar disorder

“I asked her what was wrong. She told me she didn’t know how to tell me, but I should probably get home as soon as I could. My boyfriend had called her to let her know he was throwing out all my stuff and kicking me out. ‘Why?!,’ I asked her crying. My boyfriend yelled at me, saying I needed to get my (explicit) out of there now.”