I burned a letter from my mother once. It was a horrible hate letter when I was in college, after my brother 'outed' me to them because I was dating a woman at the time. In said letter she said lovely things like "I am glad your grandparents are dead because this would have killed them" (her parents, mind you, and that grandmother was the one that was more a mother to me than she was and I loved her like crazy) and "Lots of luck, you're really going to need it" and "They won't let you work at Girl Scout camp anymore if they find out, you better hope I don't tell them." I think I really have let go of my old story. I was able to type that without crying. Anytime in the past when I've mentioned that letter, it would always make me cry! The memory is still there but it no longer has any power over me.