A Heart Wrenching Love Story

Love (and money) pours in for the Texas mom who induced labor to let dyinghusband see his baby girl

Diane Aulger, left, with newborn Savannah and husband Mark Aulger, who died justdays after his daughter's birth.
AP Photo/Courtesy of Diane Aulger
Diane Aulger with baby Savannah
ABC

Early this week, just in time for Valentine's Day, the national media picked up on the touching story of one North Texas family.

Mark Aulger, a 52-year-old husband and father from The Colony (a Dallas suburb), was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in January following a battle against colon cancer.

His wife, Diane Aulger, 31, was pregnant with the couple's third child together when the terrible news arrived: Mark Aulger had only days left to live.

She gave birth to Savannah on Jan. 18. Five days later, Mark passed away.

Diane Aulger induced labor two weeks before her expected due date so that Mark could meet and hold their baby girl, and she gave birth to Savannah on Jan. 18. Five days later, Mark passed away.

Since hearing the story, caring friends and generous strangers have flooded Diane's home with gifts. Donations of food, clothing, diapers and cash have helped the mother of five (Diane has two other children, 15 and 13 years of age) in the days after losing her husband.

WFAA-TV Dallas/Fort Worth reports that one California businessman, touched by the Aulger's story, contributed enough money for a new minivan for the family.

"It does feel nice that there are so many caring people in the world," Diane Augler told WFAA.

Donations to help the Aulger family can be made at any Wells Fargo bank under the Diane Aulger Fund.

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Love Your Mother-In-Law

Daughter-in-Law Diaries: New site gives you tools to deal with the other womanin your husband's life

Daughter-in-Law Diaries launched in late January.
Daughter-in-Law Diaries
Founder Ali Katz hopes that the website will help to bring families together.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

Long the scourge of a healthy and happy marriage, a daughter-in-law's relationship with her mother-in-law often follows the same story: Daughter-in-law becomes frustrated with nagging and bragging, mother-in-law fails to see how her interference is burdensome, son plays both sides, no one wins.

As a new wife and a new mom, this cycle was a part of Houstonian Ali Katz's life, too. Discontented with the situation, and tired of venting to her husband, Katz took to writing a novel about the tribulations of dealing with a mother-in-law.

Katz noticed that she didn't like the main character — her — who was impatient with her well-meaning mother-in-law. So she decided to do something about it.

"It was really a cathartic experience," Katz tells CultureMap. "It made me take a big, hard look at myself."

Katz noticed that she didn't like the main character — her — who was impatient with her well-meaning mother-in-law. So she decided to do something about it.

In late January, Katz launched Daughter-in-Law Diaries, an interactive website designed to help herself and others improve upon the oft-contentious relationship.

Daughter-in-Law Diaries offers licensed therapists to council and answer tough questions, easy recipes and entertaining ideas to impress and plenty of forum space to vent to sympathetic users — other women who face similar woes.

As the website expands, expect to see Wedding Wisdom Profiles from event planners (Christine Hoffer from Belle of the Ball will be the first featured, and then Philadelphia-based Barbara-Jo Saler) and full menus from guest chefs (Spoiler alert! Ari Rosenson, the executive chef from CUT in Los Angeles, has already signed on, as has Skinny Ms.).

"I am so excited about this project, because even though there are so many wonderful recipes online, these full menus will really help pull the whole meal together and ease the stress of entertaining family and friends," Katz says.

The whole point, Katz explains, is to bring families together. Those daughters-in-law already using the website have responded with overwhelming positivity: Where before they felt isolated, they now have a place to connect and an outlet for anonymous release about the other woman in your man's life.

And as for her own mother-in-law? "We have a wonderful relationship," Katz says.