i had been married only a few months, but between my precarious mental health due to being a survivor of incest (i thought about suicide almost daily) and my husband's childhood of physical abuse our relationship was intermittently violent.

when i was a junior in high school, my boyfriend, at the time, and i were having protected sex when the condom broke. when he first realized this i hadn't been hit with any emotions yet.

i got pregnant at twenty seven. i was in a stereotypical affair with my married best friend, and after years of being as careful as we could be with my inconvenient allergic reactions to almost every form of medication i'd been prescribed for birth control, we opted to simply use condoms and the rhythm method as described by the mayo clinic.

conversations about abortion were always something that i avoided. i didn't want to have the conversation. people can be harsh and hateful when it came to talking about it. i finally got to the point where i could talk openly about it after having an abortion myself.

i was 24 and just starting my first serious relationship. my boyfriend was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my personal life.

i have been pregnant a total of eight times. i have three children at home, ages 17, 15 and 6. i am raising them in a loving, supportive and financially stable home. now.