I admire you Jo and Achieck

I read your conversation below & thought a quote from your post, Achieck, was worth reposting here. You both were mothers who stayed in the group as survivors, putting up with abuse just long enough to make sure you had all your kids and could run with them. This story about a mother who spoke up & lost ALL her kids is such a sad story by contrast. You said:

*Many of us did not do such horrendous things but rather tried to protect them and keep them from harm, as much as we understood or were able. I remember one mother going on the war path because her children ended up with bruises due to a brother's spanking. She said it was child abuse and he had to stop. Of course, she had other problems that they used as an excuse to send her to Australia for "retraining" and she had to leave ALL her children behind with her husband. I felt soooo sorry for her. So, there may not have been a physical gun or no one broke our arms (that is actually quite offensive to me) but they had other ways to make sure we complied with the heirarchy.*

Some parents did get sent away & their kids re-adopted by other more compliant parents. Some kids were told that their parents were gone or had left the Family because they didn't love them anymore -- and I've heard stories of youth leaving the Family & seeking out the 'backslidden' parents & finally hearing the truth -- that they did care for them.

But of course many SGs know other stories too, of parents who didn't stand up at all to protect them.