“My daughter’s personality started changing when she turned...

“My daughter’s personality started changing when she turned seven. She began to gain weight. She acted out in school. She grew more defiant. My mother had died around that time, and they had been close, so I assumed that maybe it had something to do with that. She’d always tell me that she hated her stepfather. He was strict with her, but I thought that was a good thing. And he treated me so well. He was the fucking perfect husband. My daughter finally told me when she was twelve years old. We’d just moved to Long Island, and the two of us were sitting in a car outside our new house, and my husband was standing on the porch, and she pointed at him, and said: ‘You know he molests me.’ I felt so guilty. For five years I’d let it happen. He fucking knew how much I loved her. She was the whole reason I got sober. I’ve been trying to compensate my whole life. I could never discipline her after that. Now she has substance abuse problems so I’m raising my granddaughter myself. I’m still trying to compensate. We live in a little tiny studio but I try to do everything for her that I couldn’t do for my daughter. I go to every PTA meeting. Every activity. Girl Scouts, Disney, Universal. I’m picking her up from a camping trip right now.”