Dave,

Thank you so much for sharing.

It is clear that you have been through a lot in your life. I was not aware of a lot of it.

I am thinking back to something I was moved to say at a Quaker Retreat a couple of weeks ago: "To love because I love, not because I am told to love: that is my challenge." It is our right to love as we are naturally led to love, not as we are coerced to love.

It is clear to me that you had the courage not only to leave behind the values of an abusive family, but to leave behind the values of an abusive society. It is the unfortunate tendency of those without that courage to cling ever more tightly to their abusive leaders, and to take the pain that this induces in them out on those who are leaving. Leaving for better gardens of course! The abuse runs deep, and only those who are strong enough to leave it comprehend its depths.

I commend you for everything that you have done and will continue to do. We have a lot of years ahead of us!