scapegoat Archives - Page 2 of 23 - Wholesome Badass: A Work in Progress

Text graphic that reads: "Conflict is not the enemy of connection, avoidance is.

The Fragile Structure of Happiness

June 22, 2026 No Comments

I’ve been sitting with a word that has always troubled me, a state of “being” that feels out of reach: happiness. There seems to be

Text image of Winston Churchill quote: “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last,” representing appeasement, coercive control, trauma bonding, and survival in toxic family systems and emotionally abusive relationships.

Healing From Narcissistic Family Systems

February 20, 2026 No Comments

I’ve been reflecting on how, in my family—and unironically, in the family of the man I had children with—belonging was not rooted in mutual care,

James Baldwin quote about facing truth overlaid on a minimalist image symbolizing emotional clarity, reflection, and the cost of acknowledgment.

The Limits of One-Sided Repair

February 19, 2026 No Comments

Letting Go Each day, I live with the ache that I may not see my children again. We may not have another real conversation or

Goat standing alone on a cliff symbolizing family scapegoating and avoidance of responsibility

The War They Wanted: A Story of Estrangement

February 8, 2026 No Comments

My sons learned, by design, to have zero tolerance for their mother. Ordinary acts of parenting—direction, correction, consequences, even simple questions—were rejected and reframed as