My mother was terrible also—classic sociopath.
However everybody knew it—you just had to encounter her for five minutes and you would know it.
Her list of former friends numbered in the dozens—each one had fascinating tales to tell.
All the relatives hated her—she had a gift for irritating people.
There was no point in publicly attacking her—would be beating a dead horse.
I guess I should thank her—she taught me how not to treat people—and that lesson served me very well.
Mine was the opposite. Well respected, but smart enough not to socialize and have friends she betrayed.
I was an “oops” baby and told, when I was 12 I “ruined her life.”’(my sisters being a decade plus older). Always treated poorly, but sports star and salutatorian of a huge school.
Would have been homeless after graduation (I was kicked out), but joined the Army at 17 and got on a bus to Ft Rucker Alabama the next day.
She literally moved when I was in the Army and didn’t tell me.
I ended up extremely financially successful, to the point of being in Forbes with some regularity.
When she died, I went to the funeral and kept my mouth shut. My sisters talked about what a bitch she was to them and how she was worse to me — in private.
Dirty laundry makes you look bad. No margin in dumping all over your family.
The sexual abuse probably wasn’t known outside the family and took this woman’s experience to another level from most people’s.