Tantrum

by Rachel Eve Moulton

I’ve found it’s best to function as independently from others as possible, so as not to be disappointed or taken by surprise by someone else’s lack of care for you.

“My mother could have protected me,” I say. “She was too busy paying attention to herself to know I needed help.”

“You know,” she finally says, “a narcissistic parent loves and hates an empathetic child. The empathic child sucks up other people’s feelings like a sponge and tries to make everyone feel better. The narcissist loves them most, because that kid will care about them, take care of their every little need. They eventually hate them, because that’s also the kid most likely to escape—to realize as an adult that the relationship is not healthy.”

OMG this my mother and my sister....