LEAD February 2024 | Page 27

became increasingly violent as a teen , for example cutting another boy with a broken whiskey bottle , he never bothered me again .
I ’ ll never forget that . I went home to find protection , but my dad made me fight . It worked out , but never in a million years can I picture doing that to our son , John . My counselor was right . Something was dysfunctional — even if not intended .
Unfortunately , many parents were never properly parented themselves . They have no model for how to create a safe , healthy home . They inherited intergenerational brokenness from their parents . Then they couldn ’ t break the cycle and passed on some ( or all ) of that brokenness to their children — you and me . And that puts us at risk of repeating the vicious cycle all over again .
Who knows how many generations ago
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