My little sister is about the only member of my family to whom I’m close. She’s 8 years younger and suffered greater emotional and mental abuse from our parents. She was a young, innocent victim of the nasty divorce war they waged. Both mother’s second husband and dad’s third wife treated her horribly. From age 11 on, I had a terrible home life but she had much worse.
She ran away from home at age 15, came back for about a week when she was 16 and then left again. We didn’t hear from her until she turned 18. Her life was difficult and when she came back her health was poor. Our parents paid lip service to her and threw some money at her health, but they failed to give her what she most needed – their time and attention.
She moved permanently to California where she worked, got her GED and eventually graduated from university. She found a wonderful man at school who loved and cared about her. They married and eventually moved to Massachusetts where she received a master’s degree. She was working on her PhD from Harvard when they returned to California.
She took time out to have a beautiful daughter and adopt a remarkable young man from Eastern Europe. When they learned he is autistic, she became an expert on the subject. Eventually they made me very happy by moving to within 5 miles of Disney World. What a great sister!
Her daughter is starting college this month, her son is making remarkable progress in school and life, she’s a wonderful mother, her marriage is solid, she is a published author, a college teacher and an accomplished, intelligent woman. Despite all the predictions of our negative and nasty relatives, she is a smashing success.
Obstacles were no match for her determination. The past didn’t weigh her down – it propelled her onward.
This week she received her PhD.
I know you’re reading this Dr. Anonymouse. You are my hero. I couldn’t be more proud of you.
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22 comments:
AW, your sister sounds like an incredible woman. Congrats to her on the Ph D.
Oh how lovely, on so many different levels. Congratulations to her and all her family and thanks from all of us for sharing this.
Best wishes
Congrats to sister!!! well done.
and thank you anti-wife for stopping by my blog.
:)
Well she's your sister, right? No wonder she is remarkable!
How interesting that you are 8 years older than your sister. So am I!!! And my parents did a number on her so bad that she has been in therapy for 5 years and finally getting strong enough to tell them NO.
Congrats to AW's PHD Sister! That is wonderful news!
Congratulations Dr. AWS! Would love to know what subject you got your degree in.
How fortunate to have this hero in your life. Kudos to you both for staying connected through this.
Wow. Says a lot about her to have overcame and accomplished so much.
Awersome that she was determined to overcome her adversity. That's what it's all about. And awesome that she has you for a sister. How wonderful to have someone believe in and encourage her the way you obviously do. Congrats to both of you.
wow. i'm really amazed & impressed, which is hard to do. what a great person your sister is -- gives inspiration to slackers like myself. i know if i had the obstacles she faced, things might not have turned out so swell.
Gosh, the view from up here on the pedestal is such a precipitous drop... ;) I'll just smile and wave, and not tip this thing over just yet.
What a graduation present! Thanks, Sis. :)
And thank you all for the kind words. :)
Dr. Anonymouse Sister of Anti-Wife
Congatulations to Dr. Anonymouse! I agree with bookfraud - too much adversity and I tend to hide under the covers and wait for it to go away. Cudos! Cheers!
What an amazing tribute. You sound like two awesome women!!!
E
aww, what a tribute. congrats to sis and thanks for letting us know about all her great achievements, AW! you haven't done too poorly yourself. ;*)
Congratulations to Dr. Anon!
What a wonderfully written post, AW. And touching, too.
That is a wonderful post with a very happy and triumphant ending. You know they say, success is the best revenge. (I am still waiting to have my revenge...)
Kudos to sis on her degree. I don't have nearly her responsibilities and it's been a struggle for me to survive getting the master's.
Maybe sis should write a memoir about her tough life and how she overcame all that adversity?
What a lovely tribute! Makes me sad I'm an only child. (Especially 'cause of the Disney World proximity :)
Congratulations to your sister! Beautiful tribute!
Incredible post. Many congrats to Dr. Anonymous, and kudos to you for always sticking by your sister.
my x
First I phone comment no update?
I cannot type with my thumbs
Anonymouse sister of anti-wife, congratulations! You are a huge inspiration!
I also have a wonderful sister and it's a blessing I never take for granted.
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