“I met a guy recently orphaned, and left to care for his 21-year-old brother with special needs. My stepmother said, ‘He’ll never make anything of himself.’ I’m glad I didn’t listen.”
‘My mom was Rita. My sisters were Carla and Wendy.’ I wasn’t on the plane. My father got the phone call.’ Woman and and husband overcome grief together, ‘We chose to live’
‘She told my dad, ‘It’s either THEM or it’s ME. Pick.’: Woman finds ‘forever family’ after abusive foster homes
“He didn’t have to take me in. He was young. He’d never met me. But he chose to love me. I left my foster home for a REAL home.”
‘Was there a power failure that night?’ My brother and I are close, but not to the point of sharing baby-making plans.’: Mom tells amazing story about how surprise co-pregnancies resulted in ‘twousins’
“’Guess when our baby is due?’ I remember them asking with a smirk on their faces. I couldn’t believe it when they told me. What were the chances? From that moment, the race was on.”
‘I’m not scared of getting the virus. I probably won’t die,’ they say. I survived, and now I’m battling post-viral syndrome.’: Woman diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis after COVID-19 recovery
“I used to pride myself on being a hardworking, independent go-getter. It’s been a shock to have to let things go. It’s like a strong hangover, but there was no fun last night, no choice in the matter, and it won’t go away after a good sleep.”
‘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.”
‘My mother said, ‘We need to have a talk.’ She placed me in a trance. She kept me close, controlling all my decisions in the name of ‘love.’: Narcissistic abuse survivor urges ‘you deserve to be safe and happy’
“She made me feel special, then she controlled what clothes I could wear, what friends I could have, where I went to college, and my wedding. She wanted to ‘show me off’ to her friends. But there was a huge price to be paid. She found any excuse to keep me with my vices if it meant keeping me close to her.”
‘Can’t we all just agree to disagree?’ Of course we can disagree on some things, but human rights? Um, no thanks.’: Woman responds to viral post about political opinions
“There’s a Facebook post that’s getting shared around and I can’t get it out of my head.”
‘How do I choose?’ Arms rose towards me, eyes searching my face to see who I’d hug first.’: Mom details emotional adoption journey, ‘This is better than the perfect family I imagined’
“Kids at school sometimes tell them they don’t have real parents, and there are days they believe it. Sometimes I feel my heart may burst, and other times it feels like emptiness. I hope all the love I’m pouring out has never been in vain.”
‘The doctor had tears in her eyes. ‘We can’t say if he’ll make it or not.’ Fractures started appearing in the scans, in every limb.’: Woman births baby with Brittle Bone Disease, ‘My job is to love him well’
“At our 20-week ultrasound, we received the news our son’s femurs looked short, in addition to smaller arms. The kicker was he wasn’t fitting any specific mold. ‘We can’t say definitively if he’ll make it or not.’ I leaned on my faith more than ever.”
‘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.”