Alexandra Rockey Fleming

Full of Heart

In 2003, 19-year-old Private J.R. Martinez was on a routine patrol when the Humvee he was driving hit an antitank mine in Iraq.

How does this busy animal rescue get by with just 4 full-time employees? It has 300 loyal...

It's time for outdoor pup play group at Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation. As with most everything at this Falls Church, Va., pet refuge, it's a team effort. "Don't forget to bend your knees!" says Suzanne Petroni, warning her cadre of helpers that to stand rigidly in the play yard is to risk being bowled over by exuberant dogs as they gallop past.

Friends of Guest House provides a home - and more - for women returning from jail

In Saroyal Booker's life, it seemed it was one thing after the next. At age 10, it was her single mother, addicted to drugs and unable to care for her. So Booker was sent to live with a grandmother in a home already jam-packed with other family members.

After hitting 'rock bottom,' some addicts and alcoholics find a road to recovery

In addiction phraseology, it's often called "rock bottom." It's a state of mind known as the nadir of suffering, an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. Sometimes it's a jumpoff point at which misery is traded for normalcy and meaning, where one life ends and another begins.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

How the opioid crisis is changing the American family.

Opioid addiction and overdoses in children devastate their parents

"Brian has been dead for 136 days," says his mother, Vicki Bishop. "I watched him die over many years, and it was a long, slow, horrible death." Her son's decades-long battle with opioids blotted out the sun in her own life, says Bishop, 65, of Clarksburg, Md.

For families of addicts, Narcan has truly been a lifesaving drug

Beth Schmidt always begins her opioid-awareness sessions by introducing her boy. At one such event, she motions toward his photos - the solemn baseball-team picture, his sweet, clean-cut middle school portrait, the cheek-to-cheek selfie of mother and son - as she tells a hushed audience of about a dozen how Sean fought and lost his battle with opioid addiction.

Writing Books That Change Young Lives

As a kid, he never read books. Now he's writing the stories that he missed growing up.

This Is What Having Cancer Really Looks Like

The young mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33.

Special Report: Faces of an Epidemic

In America, someone dies of an overdose every 10 minutes. Stories of families shattered by the heroin epidemic and the heroes saving their communities.

Born Addicted

For nearly a decade, Rachael Kinder's life had been ruled by heroin. But last year, after repeated attempts, the Milton, West Virginia, native managed to break her addiction via a mix of counseling and methadone, the medication-recovery drug.

Another Type of Organ Rejection

The Inauguration & Women's March

After their children died of overdoses, these families chose to tell the truth

The Facebook post about Jordan Roche was startlingly frank: "As you may or may not know, my son Jordan passed away September 26th from a heroin overdose," his mother wrote. "Jordan was a sweet young man with a great big heart.

This mother drank while pregnant. Here's what her daughter's like at 43.

Kathy Mitchell wants to share something with you. She's not proud of it, and it's not a behavior she hopes you'll emulate. It's just the truth: As a teen, Kathy drank alcohol while pregnant with her daughter, Karli. It was a perilous if unwitting mistake that has defined both of their lives.

Who Killed Jessica?

The burning death of a 19-year-old girl has broken hearts and baffled investigators in a small Mississippi town.

Oslo's Vigeland Collection

Virginia TV Shooting

Two young journalists are fatally shot by a disgruntled colleague -- on live television.

The Charleston Church Tragedy

After the shocking shooting deaths of nine church members, grieving loved ones express their anguish -- and forgiveness.

My Life Now: Jessica Lynch

After being rescued in Iraq 12 years ago, the former POW is embracing life as a mom and educator.

Afghanistan Shipping Out

1,500 Members of 1st Battalion 6th Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., were among the first to deploy for the new surge in Afghanistan. On the eve of a seven-month tour, some of the young men and their families share their hopes and fears.

The War in Afghanistan: Coming Home

In December PEOPLE Met a Group of Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., Just Hours Before They Left for Helmand Province.

'Angel Faces' retreat helps burned teen girls reclaim self-esteem

The burned girl. Since she was a young child, that has been Zebonie Lopez's designation. It is more than a description- it's a shroud, keeping Zebonie, 16, of Lake Wales, Florida, and girls like her from believing in themselves and thinking beyond their skin.

Alzheimer's At 36

If I had known that every day I would lose a piece of Jason, a lot of our days might have been different.

This insidious illness: How Lyme disease derailed a teen

There was never a defining moment - no attached tick, no rash - at least none that any of us can recall.

An African Boy's Healing Year

When Jennifer Trubenbach met a teenager in Zimbabwe whose face had been disfigured by a land mine, her life -- and his -- would never be the same.

The 6 things you learn from hosting a foreign exchange student

I hand-picked my newest son from a catalog. His name is Simon, and he's from a town north of Hamburg, Germany. He loves sports (especially soccer, but he's learning about American football, baseball and basketball) and plays the classical guitar. He says, "That sounds great!"

Their Third Goodbye

On Feb. 20, Marine Sgt. Matt Roberts, 23, deployed to Iraq for the third time in as many years. Staying behind is his wife, Patricia, 22, and their sons Isaiah, 3, and Joseph, 2. People spent four days with the family at home on Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., as they prepared to part.

How Ashley Found Her Calling

She was a typical teen who liked Facebook and country music -- and then she joined a convent.

Tragedy in West Virginia

The 13 men who worked together in the Sago Mine of West Virginia depended on family, friends -- and each other. Here is the story of how they lived -- and their final desperate hours.

A Mom's Mission for Her Fallen Son

Two months after her eldest shipped out to Iraq in 2006, Mary Conboy of Philadelphia got a call. "Mom, the bunks stink. Can you send sheets and pillows?" asked Marine Lance Cpl. Adam Conboy, 21.

A School to Feel Safe

Bullied at their old schools, junior high kids of every stripe find a welcoming haven in Milwaukee.

'Mommy Is Always There for Me'

Can an intellectually disabled mom raise a gifted daughter? It's working so far for Myra and Bonnie Brown.

Help Us Adopt

One mom's mission: to help others afford adoption.

On Tour With Rascal Flatts

Lynndie England: a Soldier, a Mother-and a Court-Martial

Even Lynndie England seemed to find it hard to look. In a small courtroom at Fort Hood, Texas, on May 3, Army prosecutor Capt. Chris Graveline projected 20 pictures of the abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison onto a 12-ft. screen.