Refusing to let the two be conflated was one of the most important acts of self-protection I ever managed: the recognition that I could be free of my anger without being enslaved to their needs, that a good person is allowed to say no, and that real mercy never requires you to place yourself back within reach of the people who tried to destroy you.

Chapter 20 — I Reclaimed My Voice

My mother looked up at me then with a flash of sudden anger, as though I were the one who had betrayed her, and in that look I understood that they were both still waiting, even now, for the old Daniela, the daughter who complied, who covered for them, who stayed quiet to keep the peace.

But that Daniela was gone.