Diana's Story: I Am Not Alone

As hard as my story is to tell sometimes, I know that others may benefit from knowing they are not alone. My story starts at 5 years old when my new stepfather started molesting me. This went on until I was 13 years old, and I finally told my mom what had been happening in hopes that she would be able to get a faster divorce from this creep. When my parents divorced at 5 years old, my father took my brother, and I stayed with my mom. I never got to see my brother unless it was Christmas, and my father picked me up to spend a few hours Christmas Eve together. When I went into high school, I was able to see my brother every day for almost a year until my father found out I was there as well and shipped him off to a group house 45 minutes away. That would be the last time I ever saw my brother because when I was 15 he was killed by a drunk driver. My world shattered, and I felt very alone. I started using drugs and drinking until I was 21 and pregnant with my daughter. I got clean and sober and was somewhat happy for a few years until my daughter was 7 years old and my father decided to pop back into my life. He has a lot of money and was able to fight me in court to gain full custody of her. The small town I lived in was and still is very corrupt and he was well known. I lost my daughter and denied all contact with her until she reached out to me at the age of 17 after running away from him. She was so brainwashed and thought I was a horrible person. She still has not come around totally but slowly we are rebuilding our relationship. When she was taken, I started drugs and alcohol again while destroying my life every which way I could. I was in a very abusive marriage that landed me in ICU multiple times but I kept going back for another 4 years. I moved away from my hometown in 2007 with my childhood friend and now husband in hopes of a better life. In 2008, after being told for a second time I was unable to have kids, I found out I was going to be a mom again. I got clean and sober again until my son was 1 year old. My husband and I fought all the time because I just felt something wasn't right. I started using drugs again to deal with the issues around me. In 2015, after an emotional night, I decided I was not going to live this kind of life and my children deserved better; I flushed all the drugs and smashed all drug-related items; I swore to never look back and that is exactly what I did. I have been clean and sober ever since, enrolled back into college, got a job that I love, and have been homeschooling my school since kindergarten. He is now in high school, and we help each other with our schoolwork. I am happy for once and leading a healthy lifestyle. I am now setting a good example for my son and my daughter by being the person I am now.

I feel that BD is such a positive brand that helps me to see that I am not alone and it helps me to overcome some of the things from my past. People don't know my story, having the strength to rise above and so much more.

My life has been mostly horrifying, full of grief and sorrow, feelings of being alone, abandonment, abuse of several kinds, and just a roller coaster that seems to always go down with very small humps of goodness.

My children both being born helped me to change even though I fell way down at times. I want to be present with my son and rebuild what was destroyed with my daughter.

My life is so much better. I am grateful every day for everything in my life. Working for a company who actually cares about their employees, working towards my bachelor's degree, rebuilding my credit, living in happiness, able to deal with events in a much better way, and finding a partner I never ever thought was even possible to have. I love my life now.

What Is Your Favorite Item From Beautiful Disaster And Why: That is a hard one because I love so many. "You don't know my story" line is the one I think I relate to the most, but "Unbreakable" is also a favorite.