Thank you, Tyrone:
I was never so aware of the widespread cruelty among the JW parenthood as I am now. I certainly made my share of parental gaffes, and however well-meaning I might have been - in the name of Jehovah, the fact remains that we parents have scarred our children. Your joyless childhood is affecting you, and profoundly so, to this day. I imagine all we can do is listen to one another and commiserate, compare notes.
Perhaps some of us have an innate capacity for joy and some of us don't. That's only an observation. Some of us have been beaten down and "incarcerated" our entire lives, yet when the gaoler opens the door to freedom, we waste no time getting on with life.
Well, of course, it isn't that simple! As I stated before and elsewhere, it is only now that I feel recovered from a lifetime of trauma, commencing, surely, in childhood. I am determined not to give up, give in or give out [how's that for trite?].
Thank you once again for your reply, Tyrone. Perhaps our mutual, personal salvation lies in our writing. You certainly have a way with words.
Your friend,
CoCo