How does a nine-year-old learn to parent herself when those in her life are unable to do so? She figures it out, one way or another, because what choice does she have? Kids are resilient and imaginative, coming up with ways to make sense of what’s happening around them; that’s the upside. Alas, it’s taken me years to realize there’s a downside, too. The harmful lessons sometimes picked up in the process of practicing that resiliency can take a lifetime to exorcise.
