“My wife and I think that my sister pushed my mother down the stairs of her home.”

I'm a Senior Staff Writer based in New York City, where I've been covering classic BuzzFeed-style content since 2020.

We also used replies from these Reddit threads.

NOTE: There are mentions of murder, child abuse, molestation, suicide, and drugs.

"When I told a friend the story about how I almost drowned because my sister held me down in the deep end of the pool for several minutes, I realized that probably wasn’t 'normal' playtime."

"My last contact with my sister was the day she took my mother away in November 1990. I don't have to wish her ill — she can live with herself and her actions. I've done quite well for myself and know that everything I have is from my own efforts."

"My parents were on vacation because my mom was about to have a double mastectomy, so her doctor recommended they take a nice trip before if they could afford it. My mom got the call from the hospital on the third day of their trip. The actual worst part is that I work in the labor and delivery unit of the hospital where she gave birth. I literally could have been there. I know the person who registered her. I know the nurse who helped her deliver my niece, as she was high off her rocker. I saw my niece's name in the patient list in the NICU for four weeks before she was able to leave the hospital. That was a year ago, and neither of them has met her. Or care to."

"I got out of the car while he was still moving (slowly). My little sister was in the front and opened up the door to try to hug me and tell me she loved me. I leaned in to give her a hug, and my brother leaned over and tried to slap me across the head, missed, and got my sister.

I went to a nearby park. My roommates came to walk me back home in case they did another drive-around, which was very sweet of them. The next day, my dad sent me a text saying how dare I scare everyone like that, and that my brother was only looking out for my safety, followed by family photos of when I was young.

There were plenty of small incidents like my brother leaving me messages saying 'I'm outside your house' and things similar in the month or so leading up to this, but trying to kidnap me and acting like it was my fault was the final straw."

"I told her that wasn't ok, and she can't expect the 14 and 12-year-old to care for a two-year-old for two to three days. I told her they don't have a father, and she has a responsibility to be the best mother she can be to them. When she still wouldn't budge, I told her she and her new man were trash, and she didn't deserve her children. Oh, and her new man is married, but 'isn't intimate with his wife,' though they still live together and he can't say if/when they'll divorce.

Last I heard, she and her married trash were still kicking it; they fly out for vacations now. The kids? Oh, they're still staying at home, alone."

"Her kids yell racist and anti-gay slurs; my kids don't even have those words in their vocabulary. She needs therapy, and until she gets it, I don't care to have anything to do with her or her husband."

"My last contact with my sister was when she ruined yet another birthday. She threw a huge tantrum that I had not been supportive since I went to therapy. And it's true; I no longer had the energy to spend 10 hours plus a week on the phone with her. I was setting and keeping boundaries for myself. That made her fuming mad. I realized she just uses people to dump her trauma on. She loves to make people feel guilty for everything wrong in her life."

"I did it. Shortly after that, I broke up with my boyfriend of four years, and my sister asked me to move in with her family and help her. I did. When I arrived, I spent days trying to just get the house in order and get the baby on a schedule and taken care of. I quickly turned into full time mom and caretaker for her husband.

I lived with them for two years, during which time I met the man I married. One day, my sister and brother-in-law informed me that I was no longer needed, and they would like me to move out. I moved in with my boyfriend, but I was only 10 minutes away from them. I continued to care for my niece and brother-in-law.

One day, my sister called, asking if I could get her weed because her husband had been having a lot of seizures (and weed makes them easier on him). She'd woken up to the baby screaming because he had a seizure on her. My brother-in-law is 6'4", 320 lbs. My niece was three years old. I told her no and to take him to the hospital, and said I would pick my niece up at daycare.

My niece never went home. I kept her for about a week and then arranged for her to live with my mom and her now fiancé. We were staying with my in-laws and couldn't keep her permanently. I helped my mom get primary custody of my niece and my husband, and I moved an hour away so I'd be 15 minutes from my mom. I see my niece at least once a week and help my mom.

"In that time, we all learned what narcissism was, and my sister's 'dramatic' life stuff all started to really click. We've realized she's a true narcissist, and we've all cut her, her husband, and her son out. Meanwhile, the girl involved has been picked up as a family member. She found a guy to marry who is happy to be a dad and has been a great mom to the kid, despite my sister's protestations."

"Shortly after, my brother hurled so much abuse at me. I told him I had no regrets phoning an ambulance because if you tell me you're going to kill yourself, you'd better believe I'm going to act on it.

He eventually cooled down and said, 'I forgive YOU for what you did,' meaning me phoning the ambulance.

I realized at that point he was being utterly manipulative. I also found out that this is a common occurrence because his girlfriend told me he faked playing dead plenty of times. After that, my mental health went on the decline, and I decided I couldn't do this anymore.

I forgot to say, when my mum got the first call back from him after the ambulance left, he said, 'Mom, I've punched both of the paramedics in the face. I'm being arrested, and this is my one call, so I thought I'd phone you.' Obviously, our hearts sank, and this was just more emotional turmoil. Then he said, 'Nah, just joking, ' and laughed."

If that is not fucked-up I don't know what is."

"This was the final event for me. I have spoken to my brother twice since then. He has written to me several times, but his first two letters were a sort of apology, always including an excuse for what he did and said. He is a self-entitled, self-serving, mean jerk who has been this way his entire life.

I told him I was finished with him, and he was never welcome in my home or my life again. At this point, any letters or cards go directly to the shredder, unopened. I blocked his phone number several years ago since he kept calling. Done means DONE, period."

"Both of us come from a poor, low-educated family, single-mother family, and knowing I worked in education...it was a slap in the face, and I won't stand by someone telling two young women in my family to drop out of school and rely on being a trad wife.

That was just the last straw; there are a hundred other things before and after that that made me cut ties. I've never been happier not having to deal with him."

"She has exhibited these behaviors with other family members, friends, co-workers, businesses, law enforcement, and the list goes on. One day, everything will catch up with her, and she'll probably end up in jail. Good. I hope she rots in there."

"I have never been close to my half-brother. He had addiction issues and too many warrants, so he fled Ohio to Florida after stealing all my dad's stuff. So my sister called me and said he died; I just figured addiction caught up. One day, I ask her how things were, jokingly saying 'I know [half-brother] is doing terribly since he, ya know, died.' And she was perplexed and said he was fine."

"He was freaking out because all his stuff is in boxes on the front porch. I attempted to explain to him that we had been telling him for over a month that we needed him to pack up and help clean for the move, but he wouldn't listen. He was high as a kite. Although the opportunity to take over the apartment was presented to him, he never did anything about it, and his window had passed weeks before. He still genuinely believed he could stay there and take over the rent payments himself (although he only ever gave me $20 ONCE for rent in the 3 years he lived with me).

After some arguing, he pulled out a knife and told me that we had to leave or he would slit our throats in our sleep. 

The next morning, we went back to the apartment to make sure the walk-through went smoothly. As I opened the door, my heart sank. My brother had had a party or something. There were beer cans everywhere. Someone had puked right in the middle of the living room, and both the fire extinguishers had been emptied all over the apartment, in every room.

My wife cried the entire time we cleaned the place again. The police said there was no 'real' property damage, so I couldn't press charges.

He still swears it wasn't him. It was months later that I found out he had started using meth again and that he'd had his drug dealer come over with friends to have their own last party there."

Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.