"We have very little language, and few rituals, in our culture to mourn and remember babies who die during or just before birth."

"I met people across the country, from Appalachia to Oakland, who worked multiple jobs, had multiple roommates, and still could not reliably pay all of their bills each month."

"At first, my parents chalked up our neighbors' peering eyes and hushed whispers to curiosity. But we soon learned there was something else going on."

"I gave myself a personal challenge: no buying any clothing or accessories — for myself — for 365 days."

"I have accomplished so many things since being on 'Idol,' but nothing comes close to the joy it brings me to be a voice for families going through the same hardships my family has been through."

"I tried this scam myself weeks ago. When I approached the security guard at the entrance kiosk, I felt like I was hiding a ticking bomb in my briefcase."

"When our adoptive parents do not properly prepare us for a racialized world, we are left playing a game of catch-up."

"I almost dropped out of graduate school three times. But I didn’t. One thing that kept me going was something I’d learned from 'Reading Rainbow.'"

"As a child, you practiced hiding in your attic for when the rapist comes back, because you’ve always been sure he would come back. He said so."

"I thought I was prepared for the death of someone I’d loved for more than half a century. I wasn’t."

"Anyone who exists in a fat body has a horror story about a time they were simply trying to enjoy food in public."

"I often get asked why I was willing to donate to someone I hadn’t known for very long, even though any health complications could’ve jeopardized my Army career."

"Growing up Dominican meant that I was raised to be obedient and, in some cases, acquiescent."

"I’d vomit in the toilet between instruction and playtime, then pick myself up with some cocaine."

"The common sense I thought I had went out the window when I came across a handsome, sweet-talking stranger whose face I never even saw in person."

"I was excelling at work, widely respected by my peers, I had won several prestigious awards and I looked gym-fit. Why would anyone think I had a problem?"