“I started crying a lot and cutting myself. I began smoking cigarettes and drinking. I was stoned all the time. I still missed my father. Every time I saw him in town, he walked away. He ignored me, pretending I didn’t exist. And he still does, and has for 11 years.”
‘I was starving for love. I wanted to be someone’s whole universe.’: Woman with Borderline Personality Disorder details journey with love and boundaries
I Live With My Husband’s Ex-Wife, Because Peacefully Co-Parenting Our Kids Comes First
“We have come to jokingly refer to each other as ‘sister-wife,’ and at this point, I don’t know that either one of us would have it any other way.”
‘I regret this so much. I’ll never see my daughter again.’ My lips turned gray, my skin white. I faded out of consciousness.’: Woman urges ‘it will get better’ after survived suicide attempt, ‘Storms don’t last forever’
“I was always told, ‘You will never be anything.’ My family didn’t believe I was struggling. I was very good at hiding it. When it did show, they called it a ‘phase.’ I convinced myself no one would notice if I was dead. I had made my decision. Nobody could change my mind. In my bedroom, I wrote my goodbyes and I did it. I started going in and out of consciousness. I could see bright colors. My vision went blurry.”
‘Things weren’t adding up. ‘Have a nice life,’ I told my boyfriend. An hour later, I saw ‘RIP’ posted all over my feed. My heart started beating.’: Teen mom loses boyfriend in tragic car crash during pregnancy, ‘My son kept me going’
“I was 19 and pregnant with his baby. An hour after our argument, I scrolled down and saw a picture of a crashed car with the words ‘RIP.’ It was HIM. All of a sudden, my phone started ringing. People were calling, asking, ‘Is is true? He’s dead?’ I ran to the trash can to vomit. It felt like a horrible dream. I was waiting to wake up. I was so scared to be a teen single mom.”
‘A portion of her chromosome is missing.’ We had to prick her on the foot to get her conscious again.’: Mom of special needs twins, one with a chromosomal deficit, one autistic, says ‘I never imagined my journey as a mom would look this way’
“A few weeks later, we received the results. ‘Julius has a diagnosis of autism.’ I went from raising one special needs child to two. I learned quickly I would not be able to have typical ‘mom’ conversations with other new moms. I realized most things parents took for granted were not part of my journey.”
‘Owen was upset by the fires, so we wanted to provide an outlet for him to help.’: 6-year-old raises over $250,000 for australian wildfires making clay koalas
“Like so many of us, Owen was devastated when he heard of the Australian bushfires. He’s a huge animal lover and has been making clay characters for a while, so together we thought up the clay koala. We wish we could send one to everyone in the world.”
‘I was unexpectedly pregnant at 40. ‘I’ll never have fun again. I’ll be caring for a child with so many medical needs.’: Mom births baby with Down Syndrome, ‘She is our adventure, not a burden’
“Something magical happened. I loaded her on my back. I couldn’t see her face, but I could just feel she was happy. I would show her the world, and I wouldn’t let her diagnosis stop her from seeing the amazing beauty it has to offer.”
‘The car struck my jogging stroller. In slow motion, it was ripped from my hands as my baby ejected 15 feet in the air.’: Mom ‘will never again take anything for granted’ after 2 boys struck by vehicle
“I waited for the crosswalk lights to start flashing, checked again for cars, and stepped into the road. We had almost made it halfway when I saw the car. The sound of the car hitting the stroller still haunts my dreams. I pulled his tiny limp body out of the stroller and just screamed his name over and over.”
‘Why are you involved? Isn’t it depressing?’ I was dying and it wasn’t the cancer. It was the state of my life.’: Woman survives esophageal cancer, jumpstarts organization to help others
“I was separating from my husband, all the while wondering whether I was going to live or die. I was sharing a room with a woman who’d been told, ‘You have an incurable blood disease. Death is certain.’ I recall shrinking beneath my blankets, not wanting to bring attention to myself on the other side of the thin layer of privacy hanging between us. She told them ‘I have no family to call,’ and when the doctors left, we sat there in silence. I knew I was destined to do more.”
‘I look at my kids and tell myself, ‘Their life would be better without me.’ I push away my partner. I feel my life spiral away.’: Mom shares candid reality of manic depression, urges ‘you are not alone’
“I use what little energy I have for my job and my children. By the end of the day, I can’t sleep. I can’t be productive. I want nothing more than to lie in the dark. I give myself a pep talk to finally brush the knots out of my hair. Some days, I look in the mirror and cry. Then comes the mania. Like today, I’ll clean like crazy. Take a nice, long shower. I’ll play extra long with the kids and message all the people my depression kept me from. All while wondering when depression will strike again.”