It is never too late to set boundaries, to heal, and to respect yourself. That road tends to be long, winding, and full of setbacks, but that is a painfully natural and necessary part of the process. Those setbacks, no matter how many times they happen, and no matter how severe they are, do not define the outcome. You do. So, when you get knocked down, take a rest if you need to, do what you must to take care of yourself, get back up, and keep fighting. You, your happiness, and your wellbeing are worth it.
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Chapter 23 – My situation with my family is tragic, but the tragedy is not found in the act of walking entirely away from them. The tragedy is in the fact that they were not capable of being family that was worth having. I will forever be grateful that I was able to understand that fact, and eventually walked away from them for good.
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Chapter 21 – Chronic manipulation and abuse are difficult enough to deal with when you are well. When I developed a chronic illness, maintaining my boundaries became an even more overwhelming task.
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Chapter 20 – It is extremely normal for people to assume Diana and I are a lesbian couple, but despite how much we love each other, our relationship is not based in romance and sex. I love and value all my friendships, but the friendship I have with Diana is the one that I know I can count on for the rest of my life, through the good and the bad, until death do we part. With her in my life, I am no longer lonely, and neither is she.
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Chapter 19 – I believed Older Brother was my best friend, so I expected honesty, support, and genuine friendship. His deceit allowed him to manipulate me with impunity until his patience ran out and he showed his true colors.
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Chapter 18 – One of the things I grew up hearing constantly was, “We want all of you kids to have a better future, and higher standard of living than we did.” My parents’ actions consistently proved otherwise.
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Chapter 17 – Somehow, despite obviously hating himself, Father also gave the impression he saw himself as perfection incarnate. He also fancied himself a super-genius, and no, I am not kidding or exaggerating about that.
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Chapter 16 – When Younger Brother got engaged, he decided he wanted to reconnect, but not in a typical way. He invited Older Brother and I to stand by his side at the wedding. It was a gesture that stunned both of us, and both of us accepted in hopes of a closer relationship, but the end result was very much the opposite.
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Chapter 15 – I remember being a neglected very young child, barely old enough to be in school, and acutely aware that Mother was pining for future days when I bore a child that she could dote on when convenient for her, and give back when she was done.
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Chapter 14 – Father considered himself quite the handyman, but there are very few home improvement projects he undertook that turned out well. They were were more about deluded self-aggrandizement than a sincere desire to improve the home his family lived in, so he usually did more harm than good.
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