“It began in college. I had a class called Sex and Gender in Latin America. It was talking about the machismo culture and what women in those countries are going through, not really being protected or...
“When my ex-husband and I were deployed the first time to Afghanistan, my kids were separated. My oldest daughter stayed with my family and the twins were with his family. So they don’t have that normal...
“When you go into the military, you have this illusion that you can have it all. You can have a family. You can serve your country. You can have an amazing, fulfilling career. You know it...
“I was in the industrial painting business for about 35 years. I remember working on the bigger tanks at places like Exxon. We would sandblast and then paint them. The toughest part was sandblasting. We used...
“I started having this pain in my breast. It was getting really bad. When I went to the doctor and she felt the lump, she said, ‘You need to get tests done right now.’ I learned...
“In May 2011, he was in a serious motorcycle accident. The guy who caused the wreck ended up robbing him. He was left down by the bayou, 30 feet from the water. He was unconscious for...
“Living with my grandmother back in Louisiana, I would always be in the kitchen while she was cooking. So I guess it just came natural to me. “I remember being 7 years old, standing on a...
“This is my stepson. I’m dating his mom. We’ve been together a few years now. It’s going well. We recently got a house. It’s a pretty big step. Hopefully, we’ll get married one day. “I like...
“I don’t like to talk about it. It happened 15 years and a couple months ago, and it’s still depressing. Sometimes I don’t feel like a real man. But I am. I just have no desire...
“Anytime I hear about a suicide, it really cuts me deep. Because I’ve been there. “I don’t think people realize that person fought so hard to try not to do that. They just weren’t strong enough....
