Family boundaries and celebrations: Why exclusion from a dinner plan led to a difficult decision regarding a birthday event

to the hotel to change. I slipped into a midnight blue Valentino gown I had purchased specifically for this night—a dress that cost more than my first car. As I applied my makeup with steady hands, I studied my reflection in the vanity mirror.

Five years. Five years of trying to twist myself into shapes that would fit into their world. Five years of continue reading …