My dad took this picture, and I always thought it was our most accurate family photo. My mom and I are not playing, we are studying the board. The game is being played by my father and someone else...

We were at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey, which is more beautiful than people assume. Not all of New Jersey is ‘the armpit of America.’ My Mom and I had taken my nephew to the beach for the...

This will be the last one. It was also the last time. Or at least, the last time for that version of our relationship. .       .       . It happened after we moved from the house by the golf course...

After last Sunday’s email, there were so many supportive messages—we all have our private wounds. Still, I felt tender, vulnerable. Last night, Monday night, getting in bed, I felt the discomfort of...

Might as well finish both parts of the story.   The next time Mom got the stool and the shampoo, I took the upper hand. “Don’t do it like last time.” She looked at me blankly. “Remember? When...

There’s something I’ve debated bringing up, but there’s a point I want to make and this is a good example. We’ve been talking about emotional neglect. Sometimes this is coupled with physical abuse,...