Michele’s Story: When smoke fills the air, you know the Holy Spirit is in the room … or is that just the onions burning? Heat is already in the room with parents from two different world religions. My father was a Muslim from Iran and my mother was a stubborn...
Beverly’s Story: When I was eight years old, my younger sister and I were suddenly uprooted from our home in California to vacation in El Salvador. After we had stayed with my uncle’s family for what seemed a long time, we found out our “vacation” was permanent....
Suzan’s Story: “Why don’t you just lie there and stop crying!” Those were the words of my perpetrator, one of three men who lured my friend and me on false pretenses. Behaving like animals, they used our bodies shamelessly. I was sixteen years old, a...
Ugochi’s Story: My mom always told me you don’t need friends. I think that’s why she and my dad had so many kids. Being the black sheep of the family, I wanted to prove her wrong. Finding friends would be challenging because I was not cool, I had a gap between...
Maya’s* Story: Eager for closure, I arrived early at the courthouse. My marriage had been stressful from the first day and never got better – instead, I feared for my life at the end. When I signed the divorce papers, a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders....
Adrienne’s Story: When my husband retired from the military, we celebrated the end of twenty-five years of fast-track jobs, frequent trips from home and year-long deployments. We had settled into a suburban neighborhood and had enjoyed becoming more active in...
