I met my child’s mother when I was 21 and she was 22. After I got the courage to ask her out, we caught that instant connection. I had grown up in foster care, and she had come from drama, so we understood each other. Our relationship lasted for over four years and for a long time it was good.
In the last year, she became pregnant and we had a daughter. I really thought it … Read More
My father was gone and my mother had died by the time I was 7. I was raised by relatives. My main caregiver was what you’d consider “old fashioned”—strict and not very affectionate. I felt insecure and always looked over.
When I was 13, I began to rebel. At 17, my relatives placed me in foster care.
Going through foster care gave me strength and resilience but also a place of loneliness and feeling unloved.
After I aged … Read More
When my oldest daughter was taken into foster care, I had to confess. I had to speak to people who thought the worst of me. I had to take responsibility for my actions even though I didn’t understand what I had done wrong.
What I’d done was encourage my young nieces, nephews, cousins and my boyfriend’s kids to experiment sexually during a game of Truth or Dare. Growing up, I was sexually abused so many times … Read More
When my daughter was an infant I showed her a lot of love, but when she was 4, our lives changed in a terrible way, and I began to feel that hugging and kissing my daughter was wrong.
Child protective services took my daughter from me when she was 4 and returned her 9 months later because I had been sexually inappropriate with other children in my home. One day when my nieces and nephew, two … Read More
Illustration by Kingslee Gourrick
My daughter had some very serious problems when she started first grade. Kindergarten wasn’t too smooth, either, so on the first day of school this year I was encouraging her, saying, “This year is a new year for you.” I had high hopes.
A Difficult First Day
I dressed my daughter in her uniform—yellow tights with a blue jumper and a long sleeved yellow shirt. But as we approached the school, my … Read More
