Cold Turkey

That group that just left talks about me behind my back so I'm moving out. I can't live like that, she said.

Groups of people can be hard to deal with especially when you're the outsider in your family, I said.

I was the outsider in my family. My brother and sister got an education, they got to go to college. But I have street smarts, she said.

My father got drunk and raped me and I ran away from home. He denies it, she said. My mother left him because of that and the alcohol and my parents divorced over it. My mother is the support in my life.

After I ran away I started abusing drugs and alcohol, she said.

How did you get clean? I asked.

My drug dealer got arrested. On that very same day I found a kitten that was separated from its mother. I saw it as a sign. I took her in and nursed her back to health. I stopped all drugs and alcohol cold turkey on that day.

I used to be 400 pounds. I'm down to 225. I'm working on it. I have to quit smoking too, but one thing at a time, she said.

You've been through a war. You are stronger than ten Navy SEALs, I said.