As baby, her parents used marijuana to sedate her. Her father was shot during a drug deal. Her mother abandoned her and her sister. As an adult, her infant son endured heart surgery. It would be understandable if LaDonna were upset with God. “But God is good”, asserts the 24-year-old Texan. This is her extraordinary journey, guided by tragedy and faith.

I was so upset. I knew what was coming so I ran from the house fighting the emotion welling up in my chest and throat. I jumped into the car with one of my aunts and said, “Please take me with you. I can’t stay”

My mother was breastfeeding me, and she was often high or drunk. She didn’t realize until it was almost too late that I had lost a lot of weight and was very ill.

My parents would want to party or do something. And if I started crying and became a nuisance, they would inhale Marijuana and cup their hands around my face and exhale the smoke until I breathed in enough to pass out. You do that long enough to a baby, instead of feeding it, and you will kill it. Not to mention, the brain damage that could cause.