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RD.COM True Stories

Real Life Stories

You’ve got to read it to believe it! These true stories seem almost too good to be true, but we promise that we couldn’t make these up. From love to loss and from survival to unbelieavable coincidences—we’ve got the wildest stories to keep you informed, entertained, and inspired.

Airplane pilot collage

This Pilot Took Off Just Fine, But When He Tried to Use the Control Stick, It Wouldn’t Budge

The pilot faced a desperate choice: stay with his crippled jet and die-or get out and turn loose a flying bomb.

This Woman Was Trapped in Her Car on an Embankment for Days Before Concerned Neighbors Found Her

Trapped in her car down an embankment, Corine began to lose hope of being found.

Growing up in My Parent’s Bar Gave Me All the Wisdom I Will Ever Need

It was an unusual place to raise a child, but the characters this boy met...

How I Ended Up in the NXIVM Cult—And How I Eventually Got Out

Cults may seem outlandish and easy to identify, but they are notoriously good at recruiting...

13 Powerful Things Surviving a Terrorist Attack Taught Me About Life

Here's how I learned to see the good in a world that can seem, at...

Twists of Fate That Saved These People’s Lives on 9/11

These stories will leave you speechless.

I Survived 9/11—These Are the 15 Questions Young People Ask Me the Most

Twelve-years-old at the time of the attack, the author survived, and so did her family....

I Was Personally Blamed for the Terrorist Attacks on 9/11—Here’s What Happened

You've heard a whole host of stories about the terrorist attacks on 9/11, but you...

What It’s Like to Be a COVID-19 Contact Tracer

What is contract tracing? Kimberly Jocelyn spends her days sharing information with people who have...

After a Horrible Car Crash, Her Odds of Survival Were Just 100 to One

A car crash left Molei Wright functionally decapitated. Even if her body survived, her mind...

This Man Broke 15 Bones When He Fell into a Glacier—Here’s How He Survived

He knew that if he couldn't climb out, that crack in the ice would become...

How This Quadriplegic Man Learned How to Move His Limbs…with His Mind

Ian Burkhart was the first quadriplegic to regain control of his body using his thoughts.

What It’s Really Like to Protest in a Small Town

It’s not all big, energized crowds and visible progress. In some parts of the country,...

Racism in Healthcare: What It’s Like Giving Birth as a Black Woman

A mother of one and a lawyer in Atlanta shares how racism in healthcare nearly...

This 11-Year-Old Mows Lawns to Raise Money for Social Justice

Meet Jack, a young boy giving up the money from his summer job to support...

How I Escaped from Cuba in 1969 in the Wheel Well of a Jet

This RD classic from 50 years ago tells the thrilling story of a teen who...

A Girl Wrote a Simple Thank You Note to Her Postman and Got Hundreds of Responses

The appreciation delivered by an 11-year-old girl is returned to sender—from grateful postal service employees...

A 14-Year-Old Boy Helped Save Another Boy’s Life After Meeting Him Through a Video Game

The friendships that teens build online can be stronger than you think.

This Tattoo Artist Helps People with Scars Love Their Body Again

The first fingernail tattoos started off as a joke—but soon he was getting the attention...

I’m the Only Black Person in My Office, Here’s What I Wish My Coworkers Knew

It can be really uncomfortable and isolating being the only Black person in your office,...

How I Visited 20 Countries in One Year for $250 a Week

Country-hopping doesn't have to bring you to the brink of broke. You just have to...

I’m an International Student at Dickinson College—Now I’m Anxious About My Future

The future of many international students was thrown into flux when the Trump administration changed...

Enjoy the BEST stories, advice & jokes!

27 Profoundly Inspiring Quotes from Everyday Americans Making the Best of a Tough Year

A year of pandemics, police shootings, and racial protests didn’t get their spirits down. These...

Here’s How I Survived a Shark Attack

Mike Coots was surfing with his buddies near his home in Kauai when he was...

10 People Who Literally Came Back to Life

Thanks to state of the art medical technology—like defibrillators in nearly every place of business—life...

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