Every ember is someone who made it through. This is the text-only version of the interactive experience: read stories from people around the world, give kudos, or add your own.
435 stories from 52 countries, 1977 kudos given in total.
Page 14 of 18, newest stories first.
Losing the best years of my life and abandoning my dreams to care a diseased father until his last days, Death confronted me with the discovery of a person I thought I knew, how many secrets he hid, and how hard it was to accept that I knew nothing about him.
Sharon’s said once “face your fears and embrace your demons”so in the darkest days I tried to find a new way to live
When I lost my grandmother, I lost my second mom. The one who really raised me and helped me grow. The one who taught me everything. She had mild dementia toward the end of her life, and it was only harder that she no longer recognized me.
It's all the good memories that give me strength and let me raise my own daughter in turn. I can still remember her voice singing the songs from her childhood, and even the little funny nursery rhymes. She will always be an iconic figure in my life as a child and in part of my life as an adult.
Quand j’ai perdu ma grand mère, j’ai perdu ma deuxième maman. Celle qui m’a réellement élevée et fait grandir. Celle qui m’apprenait tout. Elle a été atteinte de légère démence sur la fin de sa vie et ça n’a été que plus difficile qu’elle ne me reconnaisse plus.
C’est tous les bons souvenirs qui me donne de la force et qui me permet d’élever à mon tour ma fille. Je me rappelle encore sa voix chantant des chansons de son enfance où même des petites comptines rigolotes. Elle sera toujours une figure emblématique de ma vie d’enfant et d’une partie de ma vie d’adulte.
Ice Queen
I lost part of my family in recent years, and along the way I lost myself because of a toxic relationship. I believed I was going to die.
I changed jobs, started therapy again, and met new people. I decided to love myself even in the dark moments, and I finally understood that I am a really good person and that the problem was not me. I got out of hell, even though some days it still knocks on my door.
Ho perso parte della mia famiglia negli ultimi anni e nel mentre ho perso me stessa per colpa di una relazione tossica. Ho creduto di morire.
Ho cambiato posto di lavoro, ho ricominciato la terapia e ho conosciuto persone nuove. Ho deciso di volermi bene anche nei momenti bui e ho capito, finalmente, d’essere una gran bella persona e che il problema non ero io. Sono uscita dall’inferno, anche se certi giorni bussa ancora alla mia porta.
Ice Queen
Lost the woman of my dreams. She meant the world to me.
I still have my faith in God and daily try to find good or positive things. It is very difficult most days but trying every day.
Wireless
When I was a teenager, we moved from the city to the countryside. It was hard to leave everything behind.
Music has always been with me, through both the good times and the bad. And I still need music every day, all the time. I believe that, despite the difficulties, we can follow our dreams and have the freedom we want in life.
Raise Your Banner
i lost a lot of myself when i grew up, home wasn't always a safe space.
my best friend, my partner and my animals give me strength, and i'm using that strength to help others now i'm a healthcare worker)
Raise Your Banner
The bridges that once led me to the people I loved and held close. Some went up in flames, others slowly crumbled into ashes, leaving behind nothing but distance and the familiar, bitter aftertaste of what once felt like home.
My dreams, my restless thoughts, and the sheer stubbornness of a hope that keeps flickering, yet refuses to die. Ambition and perseverance still keep the fire alive, though it's bittersweet to realise there's no one beside me to share its warmth.
The Reckoning
In September, my husband David died by suicide, a month after our tenth wedding anniversary. We had built a life together in America and brought it with us to Italy. I miss him in the middle of ordinary things, like hearing a song and wanting to know what he thinks of it. I thought we still had years of those little conversations ahead of us.
There's a room by a creek in Tennessee where David asked me to marry him. He loved rock and country. Sometimes a country song takes me back there, and for a moment I get to remember what it felt like to belong. I also write poems and novels. Writing is helping me express and confront things that are hard to say.
Ritual
Losing one my best friend on suicide, and seeing someone jumping of a bridge
Support from friends and the endless love they give. And the sounds of music lyrics gives me strength.
Sing Like A Siren
I lost the most important person in my life in 2005 suddenly and life was difficult. Getting fibromyalgia and losing everything again nearly made me give up.
My nan Winifred gave me strength and the will to go on and though she’s not here anymore I have my mum now as well. Listening to your music has also helped a lot. My cat Smokey and dogs Luna and pip make life enjoyable.
Don't Pray for Me
I've been unemployed for over a year, and aka was bullied in my childhood. Also, the current right wing state of politics, where minorities are persecuted and treated like shit.
I belong to an international community and organization dedicated to heal men's wounds through love, acceptance, accountability and brothership. My wife has also been tremendously supportive of my current unemployment.
The Reckoning
I haven't seen my family or friends for almost six years and I cannot go back home because of the war. I am all alone, in the limbo of bureaucracy, uncertainty, unemployment, and the worst mental struggles I've ever had.
My only close friend is music. It knows how I feel, it never judges, and it is always there for me when I need it. Music consoles me and gives me the strength I need to carry on, despite the empty tank I've had for years.
Sing Like A Siren
Dealing with constant anxiety and panic attacks for months before finding medication that worked. I was convinced every bridge I drove over would crumble under me, could barely get through a day without a panic attack, & physically could not relax.
I have 2 groups of friends I found online via common interests that have become found family. We are international - around the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia! I have had so many wonderful experiences because of these people and don’t know where I’d be without them in my life.
Ice Queen
Having to face the break up with a toxic parent who didn’t have the capacity to love me. I haven’t spoken to my father in over 4 years.
The peace and forgiveness that I carry with me: I forgive him for not being able to be the parent I needed him to be and I am at peace with having left him behind. Having a mother and a stepdad who was there to lift me up and love me, gave me the strength to walk through this fire
Wireless
I became a mother at a very young age, but I was happy from the very first moment—I was expecting twins. However, as time went on, I had a bad feeling; I knew something wasn’t right. And when the time came, my fears were confirmed: one of my twins did not survive the premature birth. At that moment, you don’t know what to do; you learn to live with it, but that wound remains in your heart forever.
Despite this, I feel there is a "before" and an "after." I live for my son; I am a more empathetic person and I truly appreciate life—carrying that wound in my heart, yet moving forward. ❤️🔥
Had to leave behind everything I had, escaping an abusive family, having to trust a person online to help me. I ended up bullied by the same person, who rescued me to another city far away and left me ultimately homeless. My only option was to leave the country, and leave even more behind. My memory has decayed, as well as skills I had are now lost.
In the end, I traveled further than I could have ever imagined, met new people, who have helped relentlessly, and seen things I could have only dreamt about. Found new passions, and reasons to stay strong.
Raise Your Banner
My young adult child left us in anger this year .
We are working on reconciling and watching her fly and grow.
The Reckoning
I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and the whole process from diagnosis to treatment was a blur. Decisive action and an operation had saved my life, but it had left me with long lasting anxiety and worry. I also lost friends who couldn’t support me whilst I was dealing with these lasting effects which often lead to anger and and reactions where i would flip out
I got help and learned to recognise and deal with the anxiety and the reactions. My friendship group is closer and more supportive having lost those who weren’t in my corner along the way. Now I grasp any opportunity to make new memories and adventures as you never know what’s around the corner.
The Reckoning
The image of myself, everything I thought I was and had to be. My relationship with my family. My dreams and what I want to do, and now, on the threshold of 40, I am completely lost and chained to a place I don't like and can't escape from, while I try to reconcile the person I show and the person I really am, with what I really need. I can't find the way and I can't find the way out.
I don't give up and I keep moving forward, trying new paths and trying not to despair. Music helps me, my passions give me strength. The awareness that whoever I am, I am not weak, I never have been. I am not the only one who is lost and I can make it. I will break the chains.
L'immagine di me, tutto quello che pensavo di essere e dover essere, Il rapporto con la mia famiglia. I miei sogni e quello che voglio fare e ora alla soglia dei 40 anni sono completamente persa e incatenata in un posto che non mi piace e da cui non riesco a scappare, mentre cerco di riconciliare la persona che mostro e la persona che sono davvero, con quello di cui ho davvero bisogno. Non trovo la strada e non trovo la via di uscita.
Non mi arrendo e continuo ad andare avanti, provando nuove strade e cercando di non disperare. La musica mi aiuta, le mie passioni mi danno la forza. La consapevolezza che chiunque io sia, non sono debole, non lo sono mai stata. Non sono l'unica persa e posso farcela. Spezzerò le catene.
Sing Like A Siren
A deep love deciding I didn't belong in their life anymore
Finding love for myself in the absence of theirs.
Raise Your Banner
When I lost dad to cancer. It was the hardest time of my life, psychologically and phisically, I wasn’t able to function but in the meanwhile I had to manage alle the things around… those practical stuff. I was ready to give up all my dreams and ambitions and close myself.
When I got the offer to open on the tour of one of my favourite bands. It made me feel happy and proud, and motivate me to go on.
The Reckoning
I have a lot of excess weight. That makes my life not easy. I know that I will lose this weight someday, but it is hard with a hormonal illness on top of it and depression. I simply can't do some things at the moment, and I am always afraid of what people think of me. People around me are also not always very kind to me about it, and they also don't understand how hard the "normal" things are with depression.
I have found wonderful people who accept me the way I am. Especially my girlfriend (I never thought I would find love) she understands me very well after I was able to explain how certain things feel for me. Our communication is incredibly good, and I never have to put on a mask with her, and that feels incredibly liberating. I am incredibly grateful to her, and she has taught me that people also deserve the chance to understand you. Be open, and the right people will stay with you!
Ik heb erg veel overgewicht. Wat mijn leven niet gemakkelijk maakt. Ik weet dat ik dit gewicht ooit kwijt ga raken maar het is lastig met een hormoonziekte erbij en depressie. Ik kan sommige dingen gewoon niet doen op het moment en ik ben altijd bang wat mensen van mij denken. Mensen in mijn omgeving zijn ook niet altijd even aardig tegen mij erover en begrijpen ook niet hoe moeilijk de "normale" dingen zijn met een depressie.
Ik heb geweldige mensen gevonden die mij nemen zoals ik ben. Vooral mijn vriendin (Ik had nooit gedacht liefde te vinden) zij begrijpt mij heel goed nadat ik uit kon leggen hoe bepaalde dingen voelen voor me. Onze communicatie is ontzettend goed en ik hoef nooit een masker bij haar op te zetten en dat voelt ontzettend bevrijdend. Ik ben haar ontzettend dankbaar en ze heeft mij geleerd dat mensen ook de kans verdienen om je te begrijpen. Ben open en de juiste mensen zullen bij je blijven!
Sing Like A Siren
A lifetime of Complex PTSD from systematic, brutal violence on every front. From childhood, I faced profound loneliness, family abuse alongside my parents, and exposure to sexual predators. I survived relentless psychological, physical and sexual abuse in relationships, silenced by fear. I endured racism far from home and fought a lonely battle to accept my identity. I carried the crushing weight of holding my world together to prevent it from shattering, surviving a fire meant to end me.
A fierce resilience that refused to die. When the real world was unbearable, books and endless knowledge became my sanctuary. Out of systemic violence, I forged myself into three pillars: an engineer, a statistician, and a classical pianist. Science gave me the order my life was denied, and the piano became the voice for my pain. Through every page I read, every chord I play, and every system I build, I reclaim my power. The fire didn't destroy me; it forged me into steel.
Sing Like A Siren
My entire life has been confined by complex health complications caused by the sun, turning everyday existence into a living hell. Deep within lies an unhealing wound: losing my first love to a homophobic attack, a nightmare that scarred me forever. Compounding this grief is living in a society that refuses to accept who I am, forcing me to hide my true self. Bound by physical limitations, devastating loss, and relentless prejudice, so much of my life has been burned away.
Yet from those ashes, I relentlessly strive to become the best version of myself. My incredible partner is my sanctuary, gently painting vivid colors onto what used to be a monochrome, grayscale existence. My purpose and greatest driving force is being a pillar of strength for the people I hold dearest, every single smile and triumph of theirs fuels my soul to keep moving forward. Even if a hostile world forces me into darkness, their love empowers me to glow fiercely from within.
Don't Pray for Me
So many things throughout my whole life, it's impossible to put it all in a short summary. Point is, I'm scarred probably for the rest of my life, both mentally and physically.
Despite everything, I'm still here. Still surviving, still fighting, still living.
Sing Like A Siren
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