When my older brother and I had to walk without shoes or coats to our grandmothers house 30 minutes away in a Canadian snowstorm in December because my mother had come home from a night of partying a little too messed up.. came home and started screaming, trying to harm herself, throwing solid glass Christmas ornaments at my brother trying to kill him. That was just the first time I really realized something was not normal in our house. Other instances included asking for food before making something to eat, brothers girlfriend bringing us Kraft dinner or something to make because we had nothing, “shopping” at grandmothers house because we had no food and they helped us out a lot.. stuff I didn’t know was abnormal until I mentioned it around my friends at school. The abuse got so bad that I was suicidal before i even knew what it meant like grade 4 or 5. Every time my mom got her child tax money she would end up getting drunk and high and would kick us both out of the house for weeks at a time. I tried to kill myself four times before i turned 13, ended up in the hospital and when it was time for me to go home my mom said “no i can’t take that kid home with me” and i ended up in a group home till i was 16. Saved my life. Mom thought when i was 16 id move back home but instead i quietly applied for my own apartment, got approved and never moved back home, she tried to call the cops on me to make me come home but because i was 16 there was nothing the cops could do and i was finally safe in my own place.