journey into inspiration
by Eugene Solomon, Melbourne, Australia “I’d been looking at shadows on a cave wall all my life. Now I saw the sun.” My body was a fiber; an elongated, pinkish thread, stretched out over time, all the way from my birth to the present. It grew out of the fibre above me. I looked up… Continue reading the awakening
By Chanette Smith “People who have schizophrenia feel different and forgotten,” says Chanette Smith. Growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a coloured suburb in a lower-class home, was a battle and limited me. I was unhappy in my adolescence, being raised by a single parent. Finding self-acceptance was a problem. Living with schizophrenia was… Continue reading life with schizophrenia
by Phyllis Reilly A trip the Fourth of July to Coney Island in 1948 has an unexpected turn… We are going to Coney Island to spend the day at the beach and plan to stay late to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. I have been to the beach many times but… Continue reading The Fourth of July at Coney Island 1948
She survived horrors that most people could never imagine. Her true story of abduction, captivity and survival tells the frightening events and the one thing that kept her going – hope. By Elena Nikitina Abduction “The fear settled inside me… It was excruciating… It was rapidly destroying me.” Imagine you are walking home alone one… Continue reading A True Story of Abduction, Captivity, Survival, and Hope
Tasha submitted her story as part of our Overcoming Adversity Contest by Tasha Roza, Tracy, California It started when she was 7. That’s when her life took a dark turn. It started when I was 7 years old. My parents split up, and I moved with my mother and her new boyfriend. Soon after… Continue reading it started when she was 7
**Marie submitted her story as part of our Overcoming Adversity Contest.** by Marie Preston, Monroe, Georgia Confronting the horrific death of her 12-year-old brother, she is finding healing and joy. May 5, 1971 … spring quarter at the University of Georgia on a Wednesday … about 7 p.m. to be exact. As a 20-year-old sophomore,… Continue reading finding healing and joy
By Sharen McArthur, editor Breaking the silence was something he could not do when he was a child. He could not tell anyone – not his parents, his brothers, his sister. He suffered in silence. In 2013 he decided it was time to tell his story of the sexual abuse that he had endured as… Continue reading Breaking the silence
Inspiring Sisters…Our winning story! People from throughout the United States shared their heartfelt stories about their sisters’ influence on their lives. Here’s our winning story that shows one of the many ways a sister can inspire her own sister and others… Nancy Hernandez, of Lorain, Ohio, shares her sister’s story of coping with a chronic… Continue reading Your Inspiring Sisters
Son credits his success to mom’s commitment as a mom By Tim Echols, Bogart, Georgia My mom was a fighter. She fought arthritis, lupus, scoliosis and, ultimately, cancer. At 7:15 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, she stopped her fight and departed this earth for a much better place. As I sat there and looked at the… Continue reading Mom instilled values in her three sons
By Sharen McArthur, Editor Making memories in our new home… In the early morning hours of the days before we moved to our current home, I lay awake and listened to the sounds my house made. Some sounds I could never place; others told me sweet stories. I heard a creak in the… Continue reading Memories Make a Home
BY JANE MARSTON, ATHENS, GEORGIA IN AUGUST OF 1988, I found myself planning a return move to Athens, Georgia, having taught for one year at Mercer University in Macon. On the eve of vacating the apartment I’d been renting, I hoped against hope I’d have no trouble transporting my cat, a five-year-old gray tabby. Flash—so… Continue reading Path
BY SHAREN MCARTHUR, EDITOR THE UNEXPLAINED, THE SUDDEN, THE UNEXPECTED – these are the things that fill the soul, making thick, delicious ruminations. One such incident happened on a sunny Saturday morning, not to me, but to my husband and daughters. Driving down the road about a mile from our house in an older section… Continue reading The Script of My Life