They may have taken me out of my children’s lives — but they never took them out of my heart, and I refuse to stop being their father.
Divorce should end a marriage — not destroy a family.
But when separation turns toxic, it becomes something far worse than a legal process. It becomes a psychological battlefield — a silent war without smoke or sirens, where the most vulnerable […]
I’m calling this the “Mom-pocalypse” – I didn’t uncover mom’s covert narcissism until I was 49 years old!
So, I won’t go over every nitty gritty detail of my youth, but there was this ever present feeling like I didn’t belong, like I was an outcast/outsider in my own family and extended family in Texas, where I grew up. My parents divorced when I was 15, […]
Like all parents, my father George was imperfect. He was consumed with anger – pessimism, cynicism, and rage permeated our house. His arrival from work always warned of an impending storm. He was only nice or cheerful during his nightly drinking; a predictable pattern that preceded his maudlin reminiscing that aroused his anger.
My parents fought almost constantly, and George used the silent treatment as punishment – sometimes […]
I don’t often share, but I feel like I can explain and say the proper things on here.
So my TAR pit started about 8 years ago, when I got involved with a narcissist. Everything was always turned around on me, my feelings weren’t considered – it was always because I did something wrong. I made him mad, so he acted this way.
Now I struggle. We’ve been separated […]
I met him online. We pretty much instantly clicked. He was a truck driver, willing and eager to drop into my life. He was ready to come spend the night with my kids and me. I should have known this was the first red flag.
At first everyone liked and accepted him. We had this insatiable thirst for the patriach position in our family to be filled. And […]
Hi, where do I start? I watched my mom be abused physically, mentally, emotionally, and verbally growing up. I always said I will not let it happen to me. However, I do recall an argument where I was told I’m stupid, don’t know what I’m talking about, and that my feelings are not valid. I was 18 years old, and driving during this argument. As I proceeded to tell him I’m […]
I am a 68-year-old woman who has been in a toxic marriage for 39 years. I am also an 8-year crack and meth addict who uses to cope with the incredible pain and loneliness of a loveless relationship and the absence of any family support at this point. There is no resentment towards them for protecting themselves and living their lives – just a gaping maw of emptiness and […]
I experienced sexual abuse when I was a little girl. I told one of my caregivers and they didn’t do anything about it. I held that secret for several years, which wreaked havoc on my self-esteem and sense of security. I got the message “You are crazy and you don’t matter.” I don’t think that was the intended message from some of the people that were in my life, […]
Survivor is a strong word some days. I was blessed with a precious baby boy. He was extremely smart and very athletic growing up. His personality was almost mirror to mine. People loved him and he loved people, maybe too much in school. He had his whole life planned out for him at the ripe old age of 15. He was dating the love of his life, going to […]
As of this writing, I have been separated from my ex-husband for 22½ years and happily divorced for 14½ years. There was certainly one bright light after the wedding – my child… an amazing daughter to whom I refer as the best baby ever born. She is everything to me, and I don’t believe that I would have weathered this storm without her support, encouragement, and a smile that […]
