Mistakes We Never Made (Mistakes We Never Made, #1)

by Hannah Brown

“I think leaving your family makes you an objectively bad guy.” “Yeah, definitely in some ways.” “I mean, I can understand a marriage not working out, but your kids are your kids. That’s not something you can walk away from.”

had a dad, who I loved more than anything, and he left. The idea of being cordial with him after how badly he hurt me seems impossible, so I just stay away.

My dad made a choice, and it wasn’t to love us unconditionally. And I deserve, at long last, to know why.

That you didn’t just walk out when things got hard. That you didn’t do that to your children. Admiration at my mom’s strength washes over me now. She was determined to try to make her marriage work even after my father cheated, but it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t force him to stay.

“Mom wanted to work it out, and you still left. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

For years I’ve been angry that he couldn’t even give me a hug goodbye. If he had, I would have clung onto him hard enough that he couldn’t leave, but he twisted away from reach,

It’s like the truth has only hit me now, nearly twenty years too late: He’s not coming back.