This month will see the fifth anniversary of Mum and Dad's fatal accident. Five years is a landmark that I sometimes thought that I would never reach so I am feeling quite proud of myself. I was 17 when my "first life" ended and so much has happened since then that it is difficult to know where to start.
All the people I'm going to mention have a pretty good idea of what I think about them so I don't think that I am being naughty when I put it all in writing.
Dad's parents - They are still going backwards and forwards between the UK and the USA on a regular basis. They have never wanted to get involved in the train crash that was my life after my Dad, their son, was killed. They love me in a fairly casual hands-off manner and that pretty much describes the way I feel about them as well!
Dad's brother - He has helped me so much that nothing I could write here would do him justice. He is shocked and disappointed by the casual approach of his parents to all that has happened and there is something of a falling out between him and them.
Mum's parents - They abused me emotionally, financially and physically and both ended up in prison. Granddad will probably never be released since his current life expectancy is less than the number of years he still has to serve!
Mum's sister - She too has helped me an enormous amount but the "elephant in the corner" is that her decision to allow me to live with a man (her Dad) with a proven track record of abusing teenaged girls without even warning me first was a bad, bad call.
My boyfriend and my housemates - The emotional and practical debt I own them can never be repaid. Between them they have helped me to repair almost all the damage that Mum and Dad's death caused.
Facebook "friends" - with a few honourable exceptions they have been a waste of time and energy. I always try to comment on their family news or latest crisis but they never reciprocate so I reckon that it is time that most of them were deleted from my life.
Pen friends - one or two have been stars, one of two have been a complete nightmare and large numbers have been totally unreliable with the result that our exchanges of letters have lapsed.
How I coped (from age 17 - 21) with a double parental bereavement
Im sorry for your loss. Not just the loss of your parents but for the loss of the life you had and the teenage years you should have had and enjoyed. You are obviously a strong woman to have come this far and I am sure you will continue to rise above the challenges that life throws at you. I hope good things are just around the corner for you, sweet girl. Congratulations on all you have achieved
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