My Mum Abused Me For Years. After She Died, I Was Overwhelmed By What I Discovered In Her Diaries

“I’ve written a list,” my mother said as our session began in her therapist’s San Francisco office. “It’s called ‘the 40 most unforgivable things I’ve ever done to my daughters’.” 

Fog flowed above the skylights as she fidgeted in her seat, twirling her blue chiffon scarf. I cringed. I hated the idea of therapy, but Mum loved it. She’d convinced me to go, even though I protested, telling her, “I don’t need any apologies.” 

At 30, I was still frozen in fright as if I were seven years...