Every story here is published as it's written, no editing or polishing. If you follow our basic guidelines, your story will be published.

Guidelines

No AI-generated submissions. This is your story, told in your own words, from your own experience. It can be imperfect, because most of our stories are.

You must be 18 or older to submit.

Please don't name a specific doctor, hospital, or organization in a negative light. You're welcome to describe a hard experience honestly, just without naming who or where.

Please refer to your child by first name only, or initials, not their full name. Please don't include photos or any other identifying information.

Suggested length: 100-1,500 words, but this is just a guideline.

A Note on Privacy

You can submit under your full name, a first name only, or fully anonymously. Whatever feels right for you.

A Note on Ownership

You keep full ownership of your story. By submitting, you're giving Heartbound Voices permission to publish it on the site and share it on social media. We're not claiming your story as ours, just asking to share it.

A Note on Responses

We're not able to respond individually to submissions, including ones we're not able to publish. We read every story, but we don't provide feedback or explanations about publishing decisions.

New stories are posted on a rolling basis.

If You'd Like Some Structure

These prompts are optional. Answer as many or as few as you'd like.

How did you learn about the diagnosis?

What is the name of it, in plain language?

What was the hardest moment?

What did no one tell you?

Where are you now?

What's one thing you'd want another parent reading this to know?