“When asked about my parents, I’d lie. My go-to story was, ‘My parents work out of state, that’s why they can’t be here.’ How could I tell these kids the truth? How does a 3rd grader explain the hell they’ve been through?”
‘I watched my dad get taken by the police. I was playing in the neighbor’s yard. The officers crept up MY DRIVEWAY. I I hugged onto his legs, begging him not to go.’
‘Casey had no idea what was happening to the woman he married. He thought I was no longer happy in our marriage. All he wanted was the woman he married. I could not do this one thing.’
“I became very closed off and did not want to communicate with my husband, the one I was supposed to be sharing my life with. I felt like I was letting him down, when in reality all he wanted from me was the woman he married.”
‘I hear Bon Jovi say, ‘You dropped something! It’s stuck to your foot.’ I turned around. Was it a black handkerchief? No… What was that?’
“I was going to say, ‘It’s not mine!! I have Tonsillitis.’ But who was I kidding? It was the size of a parachute, and it was mine. When I left the house, I grabbed old jeans that I whipped off before a shower yesterday, but had neglected to take my underwear out of.”
‘He didn’t know this boy lost his dad, has been on the waiting list for a ‘big brother,’ and lives with his mom and sister, yet he was still kind enough to say ‘yes.’: Special needs mom touched by employee’s act of kindness
“See this guy right here? While working at the front desk, he looked up to find a random kid standing in front of him asking if he’d like to see a card trick. Let me tell you all the stuff Kahlief didn’t know.”
‘My 7-year-old daughter asked me to snuggle. ‘I can’t. Someone has to clean up dinner, and APPARENTLY that someone is me.’: Woman urges other mothers to slow down, ‘Cleaning can wait’
“As I walked back in from handling the garbage, I overheard the conversation between my daughter and husband. ‘Mom won’t sit down.’ Those four words made me want to cry, and also irritated me.”
‘I was released from the hospital. I went to my mom’s. She’s a chronic relapsing alcoholic. We went to lunch. I ordered what I referred to as ‘my last beer.’ Not even half believing that was true.’
“We started going on Wednesday nights because they served $.25 cent beers on tap. We always requested a specific server, Jeff, because he always took special care of my daughter, Maggie. It slowly turned into flirting. 6 weeks later, I moved in with him.”
‘I want to leave. Your grandpa is scaring me. Pleeeeaase!’ My friend shuffled in and closed the door. Her face was red, and she was crying. She looked terrified.’: Woman overcomes sexual abuse, vows to protect daughter
“Grandma would witness him touching me and she would quickly brush it off. ‘Don’t do that! That’s you’re granddaughter!’ He’d laugh and say, ‘Not by blood. Haha.’”
‘My girlfriend and I were scuba diving. There was an accident. I went too deep for too long. She held her breath, and stopped breathing shortly after. She was declared dead.’: Man finds love after devastating loss
“She came to introduce herself, but I was avoiding any contact. The moment my eye caught a glimpse of her though, I knew she would be trouble for me. She was so elegant, but I wanted nothing to do with women. I was rebuilding myself after a life changing accident.”
‘I found out the Friday before Thanksgiving.’: Women shares journey with invasive dual carcinoma
“They gathered around me, each taking turns cutting off locks of my hair to send in for a wig. I was always the one cutting my kids hair. I never thought I would be put in the chair. As I sat, I cried alone as my eyelashes fell out into my weeping eyes.”
‘When my mother passed, she left behind an old tape she recorded in secret. She made it in increments. I couldn’t cry. It was my job to stay strong. I’ve listened to it dozens of times.’
“As her health declined throughout the years, I cradled her frail body. ‘I won’t let go,’ I told her. I was no longer the child. The roles reversed.”