My mother had a lot of unaddressed issues that ultimately led her to heavily abusing prescription drugs for much of mine and my little brother's lives. According to my dad she was an excellent mother before all the drugs and we were "like best friends" but I have little to no memory of that time in my life because I was so young. My brother is 6 years younger than me. Now that we're both adults our dad has confided in us that he fully intended to leave our mother and raise me on his own if necessary before she announced her pregnancy, but then he felt compelled to stay and "keep the family together." He was very traditional in that sense. He always felt compelled to "keep the family together" despite my mom's rampant drug addiction and the various behaviors common in addicts. They finally split after I was well into college and my brother was nearly legally an adult. Those near two decades with her around were hellish.

Despite it all, I think I turned out fine. I had my own issues growing up that likely stemmed from the influence my mom's drug problem had on me, but I'm pretty well rounded now. I still deal with anxiety and depression on a regular basis, but I think that would have occurred in me anyway looking at the rest of my family. We didn't really talk or see one another for close to 5 years after she moved out of state following my parents splitting up. I had a lot of anger towards her. I still do. But we've been talking a little more here and there and she came to my recent college graduation (first time seeing her since she moved) and I've been able to begin forgiving her despite all the crazy stupid danger she put us in on a daily basis due to her addiction and the daily theft she committed against us to fuel her addiction for nearly 2 decades.