“You Ruined Everything”: My Parents Left My 8-Year-Old Daughter Alone on the Road and Drove Away

might break apart if I touched her too roughly.

Then I looked directly into her eyes.

“Listen to me, Abigail. What happened today is not your fault.”

Her lip trembled.

“Are Grandma and Grandpa going to stop loving me?”

The question nearly destroyed me.

Children always assume they are the problem.

“No,” I said softly.

“The problem isn’t you.”

But even as I said continue reading …