I have a growing-up story. My dad was distant, an alcoholic, and the unhappiest, angriest man I've ever known. Never laid a hand on me; it was always words.
You have a growing-up story, too. So does Billy Graham. And Timothy McVeigh. And Hillary Clinton, Tiger Woods, Tom Cruise, and Hitler.
Sometimes the family adversity shapes us for greatness and we're called overcomers. Sometimes what seems like the same shaping is blamed for turning us into monsters. Usually it's something in-between. It's as if the same ingredients can make a completely different soup, depending on who's cooking, the temperature, and when and in what order the ingredients are added. And no one can guarantee how it will turn out, though we do have a clue of how it's supposed to work.
So who's this?...
- as a child, had a sense of humor, "always smiling...the little sweetheart of the family."
- in and out of orphanages for the first 6 years of life
- father beat the kids and mom, including during all her pregnancies
- even after the parents divorced, dad would return to traumatize the family
- dad left the family destitute--"He was a man who never should have had children."
- after the divorce, an uncle moved in and continued the beatings
- dad is now institutionalized; 2 sisters are diagnosed schizophrenic
Overcomer or monster--who is it?
