Susan Berry

When I was sixteen, I found myself unexpectedly pregnant. It’s a story that many recognize. A teenager from a troubled home life, seeking love, and believing it found in the first boy who showed kindness.

My strict parents were far from pleased by the news, but allowed me to keep the baby. The baby’s father, however, quickly disappeared.

I was determined to be the best mother I could be. Yet, my own mother had other plans. From the moment my daughter came home from the hospital, I’d often wake to find her in my mother’s room, who would insist that I return to bed—alone. I was confused that the nurturing woman who held my baby was so different from the cold mother I grew up with.