She wasn't allowed to eat the food she wanted.
She wasn't allowed to access her own money.
She wasn't allowed to drive a car.
She wasn't allowed to use the contraception she wanted.
I haven't read the book so not claiming that anything I am about to say is in any way accurate. How could I possibly know? But what I do know from being in a family of addicts/mental illness some of them do say stuff like the above. It has a ring of truth but I know the rest of the story. My brother especially rewrites history and paints himself as a victim, but also expects us to keep cleaning up his messes.
She wasn't allowed to eat the food she wanted.
Medical issue perhaps? Told she had to cut down on salt for instance for blood pressure reasons? Some foods mess with medications - grapefruit and heart meds for instance.
She wasn't allowed to access her own money.
By access, did she mean not allowed to take out vast sums of money to do something reckless with? One of my siblings got a payout after an accident partly caused by her drinking which left her injured. I wish one of us could have helped her manage it. She had to do it her way, with the result every penny has gone on drink and drugs and all the users who were helping her spend it are nowhere to be seen.
She wasn't allowed to drive a car.
This may have been to protect her from causing an accident? My sibling bemoans the fact she can no longer drive. What she omits to mention is she parked her car up a tree in a suburban street when blind drunk and had her licence removed.
She wasn't allowed to use the contraception she wanted.
By whom? I'd like more detail on this. There are many reasons why you may not be able to use a certain contraception. Smokers are discouraged from using the Pill for instance. I have a friend with a raised BMI who also wasn't allowed to use the combined Pill. She was pretty pissed off with the doctor, but he was looking out for her.