Grew up in a house of horrors , mother was cluster B and a raging alcoholic . Father was a workaholic who seemed to always be abroad making money . They divorced when I was 5 . Next few years were confusing because mum told us father was abusive , dangerous ( he wasn’t ) but it was to support her position in claiming money for us from him . I genuinely grew up feeling suspicious of my father and scared of him . He was not a threat at all but a victim of her lies . Anyway , mother remarried and step dad was an absolute sweet heart , he was so kind and we were close , at 12 years old I’d share the care of my younger siblings with him and support him emotionally while my mother would go on drunken crazy rampages through the house and generally be a nuisance . She’d sometimes attack us and I’d find myself on the floor with a bloody nose and no one was allowed to comfort me. She almost killed my stepdad once he was unconscious after she struck him with a large ornament , he never hit her , he cried sometimes to me but never retaliated . My mother had affairs , one of her affair partners sexually abused me for some time , I was 12. She was so angry when it came out because of what people would think of her . I left , I moved in with my boyfriend and obviously that turned into an abusive relationship I was 15 he was 25 I had to cross the country to escape him . I had to work in the sex industry to survive but I changed my life and went back to education ,long story short though , I’ve raised my daughter to be a fabulous and confident young women , I raise my little boy as a child who’s ASD is advocated for , his individualism is celebrated ( the school are amazing ) I’ve got two degrees and I’m training to become an art therapist . My house , modest though it is , is a place of safety and we are all doing well. I may choose to foster older children in the future.because I believe there’s no such thing as hopeless children , just hopeless parents . These tough survivors have so much potential . My ‘me party ‘ is that my mother called me tonight , she wanted to draw me into her darkness, I was kind to her , I gave her good advice in terms of her health and mental health but she didn’t touch me . I’ve come right out of her spell, I’m way above her. She can’t touch me . I’m all over helping others like me .