My mother abandoned me when I was about 3 years old. I was left to fight for survival in an extremely abusive environment. You asked, “how could she leave me.” I have thought the same thing…how do you leave your child? Especially when you know they are being abused? To me it is unimaginable. And yet, I had complete faith that she would return and rescue me…I waited for years. She never came. She never rescued me. Nobody rescued me—I had to run away from it all.

Your post is very touching…it says many things about my feelings and my story. In some ways, I am sorry we can relate to each other…I am sorry both of us have gone through such horrible abuse and neglect. Thank you for writing—you have helped me along my path to recovery.