Let's see.....Let's all put ourselves in this girl's shoes....
I have two parents who I think love eachother. My world is good. I feel secure.
One day, I come home from school to learn that my father is having an affair with a woman who is not my mother. I don't understand it. I don't want it to be true. My mom's an emotional wreck because he marraige is falling apart (she tries to hide it from me, but I'm not stupid. I see things).
A short time later, my loving mother (the person who's #1 in my life and my best friend) gets into an accident and can no longer talk to me or with me. She's gone. She exists, but she can't hug me or hold me or tell me what I should do with my young life. I feel alone. My father is wrapped up in his girlfriend. I have nobody now and I'm just a child.
Soon after, Dad moves his girlfirend into the home. After one week, she takes down all the pictures of my mother, this mother of mine who I desperately miss and need. Those pictures helped me feel secure during such a turbulent time in my young life. Now they are gone and Dad's allowed it. He doesn't understand. Or he doesn't care. Either way, I am more alone now than ever. I need to grieve the loss of my mother. I need the help and love of my father. I get nothing.
Next, this woman tells me she "hates" me and she wants to kill me. She doesn't even try to understand the pain I am in. She cares nothing about my feelings. She got what she wanted. She now has my father, our family home, my mother's photos gone and she has told me I need to go. She gives my father a hard time about me being there. She wants it all.....which means she wants mom and me gone from the home and my father's life forever. What did I do to her? I'm a child in pain. The wounds are so fresh and real.
And what does my father do...this man who is the only tie to my past I have? Does he help me thru this difficult time? Does he put me first for a change? Does he stop this woman's cruelty? NO. Instead, he calls me a "brat" and lets me know he is going to pick between her and me. I'm not first in anything. I'm just in the way.
Geesh, how would I feel? I would feel alone, unwanted, unloved, incredibly sad, scared, lost and yes, a tad bit angry. Angry simply means I'm fearful. And after what I have had to go thru (the loss of my mother) and all the other crap dad caused (the affair, moving a woman in shortly after the accident, tossing out Mom's stuff, telling me I'm hated and she wants me dead, etc), how would YOU feel if you were me??????????
If you are a normal, caring, loving parent, you KNOW that Barbara and Ed are horribly cruel and/or misguided individuals and this child is paying the price. NO CHILD deserves this, no matter what she may or may not have done. She is not an adult. She is a child who was thrust into a world of loss, confusion and cruelty. God bless her; she deserves so much more out of life.
(Original Air Date: 04/24/06) Have you ever been so fed up with your spouse's behavior that you’ve considered giving him or her an ultimatum? Dr. Phil talks to guests who say their marriage is on the rocks, and they need help reconnecting. Barbara calls her stepdaughter, Ambreah, "a monster." She says she inherited “the little thing" when her husband, Ed's, ex-wife was in a tragic car accident. Ambreah no longer lives with them, but Barbara says if Ed brings her back into their house, she'll leave. Should Ed be forced to choose between his wife and his child? Then, Bobby, a country music singer, says his wife, Danyel's, jealous ways are pushing him to the brink. She curses out other women, checks his cell phone records and accuses him of cheating on her. Bobby says if Danyel doesn't stop her behavior, he's ready to go solo. Is Bobby giving Danyel a reason to sing the blues? Talk about the show here.
