HOOVER, Alabama – At age 14 Ruby Davis fell in love.

"I was in love, I mean looooove," Ruby told me smiling and shaking her head at the memory.

By age 16 Ruby was pregnant. At 17 Ruby became a mother who had not married the man she loved and who fathered her daughter because she had found out that Mr. Right had a problem with fidelity.

"He was a man and he loved women and the women loved him," Ruby said of her first love.

Being a parent at any age is a challenge but being one at 17 with no husband and not even a high school diploma is a potentially toxic recipe for a new mom who is just a kid herself.

How potentially toxic? Well, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says "childbearing during adolescence negatively affects the parents, their children, and society. Compared with their peers who delay childbearing, teen girls who have babies are:

Less likely to finish high school;

More likely to rely on public assistance;

More likely to be poor as adults; and

More likely to have children who have poorer educational, behavioral, and health outcomes over the course of their lives than do kids born to older parents."

In other words, Ruby 17 years ago was a long shot to:

Finish high school, let alone complete college, let alone complete law school and pass the bar and do most of it while working her way up the corporate ladder at a blue chip company like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

Ruby Davis

And, I almost forgot, is raising her daughter, Diamond, 16, who is a good student at a private school who is thinking about college and a career in broadcasting.

And what about Mr. Right all those years ago?

"We're good friends," said Ruby. "He has been a part of Diamond's life and has been supportive but, no, we never married. Both of us have never married."

Ruby sent me an email late last week after I asked readers to tell me if they thought they had a story to tell or knew someone who did. I found it more than a little courageous that an obviously successful woman more than 16 years later would reach out to someone like me and want to talk about events that in this world so many would only want to let remain in the past.

But, Ruby is not one of those people.

"Those who know me well, those I work with or who are old friends, know my story and for a long time some of them have encouraged me to share it with others, particularly young women who may be at a place in their lives where they need to hear it," said Ruby.

I asked her if she had any real sense of just how unusual her success is, given those stats I mentioned. Ruby said for a long time she really didn't see her story as that special or her situation at 16 all that different from her friends at the time.

"I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. I attended three high schools in four years in Birmingham and my mother and father separated leaving my mom to raise three of us. My pregnancy was not so unusual in my world either. My two best friends in high school were also pregnant. I really didn't have a sense then that what had happened was unacceptable in some parts of society."

After Diamond was born, Ruby managed to finish high school and at 19 saw an ad in The Birmingham News for an entry level job at Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

"I began as a data entry clerk at just 19," Ruby said. It was really a turning point. This is a caring company and they also provided a structure I needed. I saw that there was a chance for advancement if you were willing to work hard. I came to believe that you dress for the job you want and you carry yourself as a person in that job carries themselves. I live by that today.

One of Blue Cross and Blue Shield's benefits for employees was a reimbursement program for employees who sought a college degree or advanced degree. That policy paid for Ruby's college tuition and law school cost.

And why has Ruby decided to tell her story now?

"I am where I am through the grace of God," Ruby said. "I believe what the Bible says, that God can take the bad that has happened to you and use it for good. I have faith in Christ and I believe he has allowed me to make it through and now it's time for me to give something back and I think that's my story."

It's a story that Diamond isn't sure her mom should share.

"She's not thrilled with me talking to you but, I told her it's not just about us. I think my story is a story of mistakes yes, but also overcoming those to succeed if you are willing to try and put faith in Christ to lead you," Ruby said.

"If my story helps one young woman, gives one girl hope that she will make it through, then it's worth it," Ruby said.

Chuck Dean is connecting Alabama through the stories told by its people -- sometimes about themselves, sometimes about their neighbors, sometimes about the places they call home.

Share your stories, or introduce us to people we should connect with. Reach out on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #connectAL, email cdean@al.com or send Chuck a note at 2201 Fourth Ave. N, Birmingham AL 35203.