Family relationshios

Children love their families–often long after those families have proven over and over again that they do not deserve it.  In memoirs, in fiction, and in my professional experience with young children in neglectful or abusive homes, children love their parents.  They make excuses, they rationalize, they even at times protect parents.  It is hard to believe, hard to understand, and yet it is.  On the other hand, it is easy to understand because we all need those loving connections so very much.  Dysfunctional families often create a culture of us against the world.

I think she knew that for her to succeed in any way in life she had to break from her family (meaning they would not accept her not following in their footsteps).  That is a tough decision for someone young because she does love her family.  She recognizes their faults in which there a lot but loves them anyway.  I hope for her she can one day bond with her mother again.  That seemed to be the hardest part for her.