Her name is Kate, although that’s not her real name.
Kate’s mother left when Kate was young, leaving her dad to care for Kate and her younger brother, with help from Kate’s grandmother.
Kate never knew why her mom left, and even if she did, how could she ever even begin to understand it?
When Kate was a teenager, she started going to a church — an unhealthy, abusive church. By that I mean that the pastor had absolute authority, strict and legalistic. He used fear and intimidation and church members did whatever the pastor said.