“I am reminded by everyone, ‘He made a choice. He didn’t have to take that pill, whether he knew it was laced or not. So, stop being sad.’”
‘His life isn’t celebrated the same because of how he died. Everyone reminded me, ‘Once an addict, always an addict.’: Widowed mom of 5 says ‘I never knew the addict, I knew the man who won my heart’
‘Eeww, look at those gross bumps,’ you said to your friends as you filled your slushies. ‘She should really have a cover-up on.’: Mom of 4 embraces postpartum body after public shaming
“My kiddos and I were at the indoor water park this weekend for a family birthday celebration. As I stood in line to get some overpriced hotdogs, you and 3 of your friends were behind me. My boobs were saggy. My stomach, flabby. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.”
‘My mom tried to manipulate me to break up with my girlfriend. She saw how happy I was. I arrived to find all my stuff on the front lawn.’: Son details the fallout from his narcissistic mother
“My mother didn’t want to get to know her. After all, I was my mother’s son, not my girlfriend’s boyfriend. ‘Why does SHE deserve a ticket, she won’t even be around forever?’ I arrived to find all my stuff thrown on her front lawn. There was a note on the message board: ‘I’d like to dig a hole in her backyard and bury your girlfriend in it.’”
‘I won’t let you die, Gunnar.’ I was heading towards end-stage illness, and an end to my fight.’: Son of quarterback, Boomer Esiason, advocates for others with cystic fibrosis, ‘I now live the miracle’
“I was 22 years old and feeling lonelier by the day, as my disease progressed faster than I could have imagined. One day in particular, I broke. I cried and cried. My mom saw it happening through the kitchen window and rushed to me in the driveway. She hugged me. I still think about that hug.”
‘She came to us asking why she felt so much anger. Jeremy gave her a hammer. The slightest thing sets her off, boiling just under the surface.’: Daughter ‘relieved to know she wasn’t alone’ after parents help her to ‘release anger safely’
“Our 12-year-old has been struggling with anger lately, erupting when the slightest thing sets her off. ‘Why do I feel this way?’ We found an old desk on the side of the road. Jeremy gave her a hammer. We wanted her to dismantle it. It went faster than I anticipated.”
‘Why would you do this to yourself? This is just bizarre.’ It’s hard to look in the mirror and see the damage I’ve done.’: Woman shares her history of self-mutilation and bulimia
“Sometimes I’d hit a vein and the blood would shoot out in an arc, creating stripes across the mirror and pouring into the sink. I was cutting away everything seemingly imperfect. Pulling out little threads which turned out to be nerves, partially paralyzing my lower lip and bits of my chin. I still didn’t stop.”
‘No shoes, I ran through the security gate, tripping as I searched for the family. ‘You did an amazing job, dude.’ It was like we’d known each other for years.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘look for your people’
“I saw him from afar, pacing. He was looking down, fiddling with his hands. Like my Cooper does. He had bright yellow noise canceling headphones on. He stood out. I immediately smiled. I was in awe. The young man waited, every few seconds trying to step forward. ‘Please be kind,’ I thought. I was actually holding my breath for him.”
‘Doctor…please believe us. Our son is not OK.’ He looked at us like we were crazy. ‘He looks perfectly fine to me!’: Mom urges ‘trust your gut’ after son’s Stage 4 Neuroblastoma misdiagnosed, cancer cells detected during ‘cancer-free hospital party’
“’Mommy, I’m hurting!’ He let out the most painful cry I’d ever heard. ‘The doctor said, ‘He has a bit of pneumonia.’ This time, it was uglier. Little did we know, that night was the beginning. ‘We are not crazy! Something is wrong,’ we pleaded.”
‘Why do you do what you do?’ The answer is always the same: ‘To give back to the families who lost everything.’: Police officer uses all his free time to create portraits in honor of fallen heroes
“I have no intention of ever stopping.”
‘Lindsey, you have a problem.’ I shuddered in fear. I was lying on the bathroom floor. ‘No, no, no. Not again. Is this really happening?’: Woman 401 days sober after grueling addiction to alcohol, ‘I promise you, life gets easier’
“The night before, on my 21st birthday, I participated in an escapade that led my boyfriend and I into a terrible fight at a country club. The cops had to break us up. Nobody knew I’d spent hours in a holding cell after being arrested. Or that I’d blacked out on the highway and cheated on a few of my boyfriends. Or even that I’d drink a bottle of wine after my nursing shifts and show up to work hungover, my patients’ lives in my hands. I didn’t want to believe I had a problem.”