I’m going to try to simplify this as much as I can. Basically, my parents divorced when I was 5 or 6. My dad then remarried a woman who was a lot of fun, but also somewhat controlling and my sister and I felt like we had to please her. We felt threatened by her, so we did what we could to either avoid getting caught/in trouble or do what would make her happy. Our dad wasn’t of much help, he played a lot of video games and in a way, avoided his wife too. I think ultimately she just wanted to have a fun and engaging family she could love, but my dad didn’t necessarily function as a great husband or parent. My sister and I always remember clinging together to sort of “protect” ourselves. We could never go to our dads house without each other, because we felt we needed each other. I also remember fearing something happening to my biological mother, because I could picture how miserable I would be if I had to live with my father and stepmother. I lived in a shadow, always trying to disguise my every action to avoid criticism.

Let me know what you can get from this as there’s always more I can add.