“I seemed lovely to most people I encountered — even those I found very, very annoying — but I was mean, impatient and unforgiving to my mom.”

The author celebrating her 4th birthday in 1981 at a backyard party with her mother, Bonnie.

The author (second from right) with her mother (second from left), her adoptive father John (center), and her sisters in Florida in 2023.

The author and her mom in Belize in 2023.

Jodie Sadowsky is a Connecticut writer focused on her life’s most defining roles: daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, reader, writer. Her essays center on relationships, wellness and creativity, and her stories for children celebrate family, tradition and wordplay. Jodie is co-writing a memoir about her family’s resilience following her father’s disappearance. You can read more at www.jodiesadowsky.com, and connect with Jodie on Twitter and Instagram @LoveThemMadly.

This piece was previously published on HuffPost and is being shared again as part of HuffPost Personal’s “Best Of” series.