Rossella Derickson

as told by Joe Price The police were at our house every week breaking up fights between my mother and stepfather. Both had issues with drugs and alcohol.   When I started high school, my sister, my guardian angel, told me I needed to go live with my dad, a police officer.  He lived in Lake Forest, Illinois, a very wealthy community, the Beverly Hills of the Midwest. Starting over! That did give me a thirst to be financially prosperous. My father didn’t really know how to be a dad. I was the...

as told by Gee Sylvestri My dad was hours upon hours working. He busted his ass to provide for a wife, four kids, and a house. He built the family trucking business from a couple of trucks to a fleet of about 20. His business didn’t allow him to just clock out at 5 p.m. It also meant he was not there for my football games, my baseball games or the soccer matches. Mom let us know he loved us even though he was not able to be there. And I got it, but still. . .  I got married when I turned 30....

as told by Barbara Scholer Brown. Leilani swam into my life 33 years ago, 1991. I was 33 and on my honeymoon. My husband, Randy, and I...