The winners of the Shebooks/Good Housekeeping memoir contest offer three slices of life as a mother. In "People Don't Get Me, Mom," Jackie Mercurio carries a troubling secret that will change the life of her brilliant, misunderstood boy. Then a family trip to the Butterfly Garden takes them to a place of healing and wonder. In "Coyote Tales," Jacinta Hart Kehoe recovers from an accident she wasn't supposed to survive but struggles to help her adopted daughter learn to love and trust again. And in "Pulling Rabbits from a Hat," Cynthia Leonard tells her fascinating story of growing up in a magical act, with a mother who disappeared and reappeared nightly.

Jackie Mercurio lives with her husband, five children, and a black Lab in New York. She is pleased to report that, taking his own advice to "focus on the wings," her son Calvin is a happy boy today and is collaborating with her on writing a longer version of this story. Visit her at Jackiemercurio.com.