Um, can I get a re-write???

Please note - this post contains very serious subject matter. It may be too much for some. It's been a long time coming. I'm taking a risk and hoping I've made a good choice. While my name is Mary Elizabeth, I’ve been called Mary Beth for as long as I can remember.   My dad left for the first time (that I can remember) for another woman when I was around three years old. This happened many times. We always met the women he was with.   I’ve been told many times how I ruined my parents’ lives by being born. Not that I had any choice… I was 10ish (maybe even younger) when my mom told me to leave and never come back… the first time. No one believed that she did that. She laughed it off as well. I showed my parents stash of pot to one of our babysitters (the church choir director’s son) one time. I didn’t think anything of it. I thought everyone’s parents smoked pot! I was about 8 years old the first time I visited my aunt in the mental hospital. What do you mean...

Today I got a letter from one of my many aunts/uncles. I haven't seen this person in at least 10 years (Shelby was an infant I believe). I'm sure the letter was written with good intentions. Okay, I hope it was. Unfortunately, the letter labeled me a very angry person and accused me of holding onto the past. Okay, it's been 10+ years, but you're sure I'm angry, huh? How did you come up with judgment? Perhaps it's an assumption. And you know what happens when you ASSUME... My friend Fred calls me a "Truth Teller". Fred knew me back when stuff was REALLY bad, when I was a teenager. When horrible things were happening to me. All my life, it has been extremely important to me to tell the truth, honesty is a must! In my 20s I probably spent more time trying to prove myself more than anything. I'm sure I repeated myself more than necessary. Probably louder than necessary too. But one thing is for sure, I was telling the truth. I think that perhaps, som...