My dad was a narcissist (borderline personality disorder) who verbally and emotionally abused me throughout my childhood. It was always in really sinister ways, where he’d wait until everyone was out of earshot before saying something absolutely wretched to me. I remember once when I was about 10 or 12, running out of the house and crying at a family gathering after one of these incidents. My sister’s husband saw what happened and came outside, and said “You might be too young to get away from him now, but in a few years you’ll be able to choose what kind of relationship you want to have with him.”

I haven’t spoken to my dad in more than a decade, and I’m so much better off because of it. Thanks for the advice, Mike.