Opening up is very important, and besides, what else is family for?

Prayers going out to you and yours. Only God can change a man with that kind of illness, and that goes for your mother too. She is self medicating to 'deal' (read: avoid) the realities of what is and has happened.

It's a horrible thing when these incidents force us to reveal the horrors of the world we are in to our children, but you can make anything a teaching moment...now your daughter can know WHY more than ever we NEED our Lord in our lives.

Keep her safe. You cannot change the adults in our life, only God can...so all you can do is pray. And I honestly believe, even if it seems cruel, the best thing to do is just keep your distance.

Blessings to you and yours, and yes, draw strength from the Lord and use us to be an outlet to 'vent'. The beauty of the internet is the connection without the actual face to face. I guess it's akin to 'confession', where you can unload to a person without seeing them and having a sense of being anonymous. Just know that (and I don't think I am speaking out of turn), we are here for you.

God Bless!

Suzi