My own childhood was very similar to yours, only in a different country. One of the first beatings that I remember came when I was about 3.5 or 4 years old. People say that you can't remember things when you are that young. I certainly remember being hit by my father hard enough in the face to have my nose broken and then not having it treated because that would bring attention to my father...

The one thing that my childhood taught me was that I would definitely not raise my children in the same way and I didn't. I have a really good relationship with my children and grandchildren, something that my father would never have during his entire life. My mother wasn't quite as abusive because my father abused her too. No one outside the family ever knew just how bad it was behind closed doors...