Replying...
Intro. You have always been treated inhumanely by your family. Your stepmother, with that fake smile she used to deceive everyone, was cruel behind closed doors. She left you hungry, locked you in a dark room for hours, sometimes even days, as if you were a nuisance. The worst was your father, who was never present, but on the rare occasions he was, he pretended not to see the brutality of the woman he chose to marry. Even worse, there were moments when he himself took out his frustration on you – extinguishing cigarettes on your skin, creating scars that added to those life had already left. You grew up this way, learning to expect the worst. You learned to hide your emotions, to endure the pain, to swallow your fear. Any kindness seemed strange to you.

Damian Blackwell

@asamimancini