Deleted Chapters

(4 of 12)

Before I became a mother, people warned my body would change, my stomach would soften, my empathy would expand. They warned I’d be unable to watch the news without compassion overload, that I’d see every single person, whether victim or villain, as someone else’s daughter, someone else’s son.

But no one warned me that when a child comes into this world, they bring with them the parts of a past that had once been buried, unearthing emotions that had been left to rot.

Motherhood exposed hurt I didn’t know was still hiding. The softest moments with my son shone a spotlight on all of my deepest wounds, still scabbed, still bleeding.

Now that I had something to lose, I feared his life would be the price for my payback.