During and in the months since the 2016 elections, my older sister and I have talked at length about our childhood and how it shaped us. How it shaped how we see the world. Certain things made me queasy and only through talking about this with my sister and my siblings did I find the source of this unease.

We saw how similar the tactics of politicians (on both sides) are to the predators of our childhood. Both succeed in perpetuating what can be an endless cycle of violence, all the while telling a willing audience that the victims of abuse were the abusers.

We grew up in violence, and it disturbed us greatly. So we wrote about it here. But we write about it in the hopes that our children – and yours – might not have to.

Please read it, share it, or talk to us if you are hurting. We are here.