Mia Baccala - Surviving CIO

"It has taken me countless hours of introspection to be here now, writing about my mother’s mistreatment of me and how it affected me. I needed to clearly and fully understand that it was unnatural and wrong, and that my attempt to get close to her should not have resulted in her punishing me for it by confining me further. Then I explored the vast array of emotional issues and cultural forces that drove my mother to suppress her maternal instinct toward her daughter in particular. Finally I was able to forgive her for her cruelty and neglect. My mother was very much a product of her environment.

"This forgiveness opened the door to a wider perspective and gratitude."

Read on about Mia Baccala's "deep personal understanding of the effects of such treatment on both the mother and infant who failed to bond as nature intended," in two of her stories touching on this: “Rose the Jew” explores the intergenerational damage, and Pee and Circumstance goes into some very real physiological effects on children whose mother failed to sympathize with their basic needs.