NOT A TEST YOU WANT TO ACE –
March 27, 2023 – Despite her outward successes, a number of unresolved adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) created vulnerabilities for Malory. Mal was raised by a loving single mother who struggled with alcoholism.
On two occasions, at ages 6 and 13, Mal was separated from her mother while she was recovering. During the second separation, Mal moved in with her “normal” aunt and uncle, and had to change schools. She felt shame and fear of being judged for her mother’s condition, so she’d never invited friends to her home.
Her mother was Mal’s best friend, brave and hard-working. But her mother had struck her when drunk, and was unable to protect her from a man who stripped her of her innocence when Mal was 6. Mal wondered why her love for her mother wasn’t enough to keep her from drinking.
All her life Mal had longed for a father, but hers never called or visited, and never cared to know who she was. Mal wondered what was so wrong with her that her father didn’t want her; why he left and never came to see her. These childhood adversities left her feeling insecure, questioning her value, and dependent on the acceptance of others.
