by Megan Mattson | Feb 9, 2026 | Stories
David’s Story I always told myself I would never grow up to be like my dad. But one day I looked in the mirror and realized I was becoming exactly the man I swore I wouldn’t be—full of rage, drinking to numb everything, no self-worth, drowning in the same...
by Megan Mattson | Feb 9, 2026 | Stories
Rolando’s Story I grew up never knowing who I was supposed to be. I didn’t feel valuable to anyone. My name is Rolando, and when I was born, my mother was incarcerated in the Shakopee Women’s Prison. From the beginning, I felt like a burden—like people only...
by Megan Mattson | Feb 9, 2026 | Stories
Brianna’s Story I never imagined my life would lead to a hospital bed, trapped in a coma from a blood infection caused by my own addiction. But even when I woke up—weak, unable to move, hooked to tubes and machines—I was still so chained to my addiction that I...
by Megan Mattson | Feb 9, 2026 | Stories
Bounsa’s Story I was born in Fresno, but Minnesota shaped me. My earliest memory is waking up after a night of my parents fighting—my mom and all my siblings were gone. We lost the house, and I lost the only safety I knew. My dad pulled me into the only world he...
by Megan Mattson | Feb 9, 2026 | Stories
Marisol’s Story I’m originally from Panama, Central America. When my parents divorced, everything changed overnight. One day I was home, and the next I was on an airplane with my mother, heading to the United States. That’s where the feeling of abandonment first...
by Megan Mattson | Jul 22, 2024 | Stories
Molly’s Story After a traumatic experience with a boy at school, I started making bad decisions at a very young age. I was pregnant by 15 had a baby at 16. I wanted to be good mom, but I really didn’t know what I was doing. I started using really heavily to mask...
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