Excellent idea for a thread.

My parents appeared to be the perfect American suburban couple when my father, whom I absolutely adored, began having an affair. I was 7 years old. My parents had been married for 25 years. When my mom found out about the affair she demanded a divorce (which, many years later, she and my father both deeply regretted). My father chose the 'other woman' and he and my mom divorced when I was 8. My father was seldom in my life after that. From that time my entire life turned inside-out. My mother became abusive toward me (she had not been, previously). She married a horrid, abusive man. The whole mess caused me to be somewhat estranged from my older sisters...they had grown up with my father AND mother; I had not. I felt like I didn't entirely belong in the family. All of my friends had two parents. I fully believe the break-up of our family strongly contributed to the early deaths of both of my parents.

Yes, parental abandonment is horrendous, it does terrible damage to children and to families.