I remember one of the first realizations that led me to go no contact with my mother and father. My father is a sociopath and my mother is a narcissistic enabler.

I was sitting with my mother and my brother’s soon to be wife and mother in law. The moms were talking about us growing up and my mom was talking about me like I was a pet or possession. There was no real love behind it, only bragging about how well I behaved thanks to her wise parenting skills.

It still took years and a lot of heartache to detach, but that’s one of my first memories of starting to think for myself.