ABSTRACT
There were times Mom seemed interested in me, but I never knew how long it was going to last. Usually I couldn’t even finish telling her something before she wanted me to be quiet or she just tuned out. I could stop mid-sentence and she wouldn’t even notice. I never knew when it was okay to show her I loved her and when I would be yelled at. Sometimes I never knew if I would be wanted there or not. I just really felt like I was walking through a minefield and there were explosions all around me. At any moment I knew if I made a wrong move I’d set off explosions, too.
