My father asked my mother for a divorce on my birthday. He removed everything from their home and began dating a 20-year-old. I took out a $6000 loan to refurnish the house I started renting with my mother, who died two months after moving in.

In her final email, she asked my father to give me the life insurance so that I could repay the loan. He made off with it. He purchased a pickup and a stereo. He left me broke, with a debt I couldn’t pay and a younger sibling to care for.