So I use books to process my own past, and one of my issues was being parentified pretty young. I felt like I was the consistent, stable one who could make better decisions on how to take care of my younger sibling than my parents, and that my sibling needed the care in the way I knew how to provide. (And honestly, I was right.)
I’m looking for books where the main character is also parentified. Like I said, I use this to process my own stuff and thankfully wasn’t sexually abused, physically abused (okay, maybe some people would call some slapping physical but that’s the most I ever got), extremely impoverished, nor did I have a parent who was a substance user. Emotional/verbal abuse, neglect, or narcissistic/mentally ill parents are fair game, though.
I’ve had a lot of breakthroughs while reading books with characters who’ve had issues similar to mine, just kind of letting me reprocess things. So to that effect, ideally the story is something relatable. Set in modern era, with characters who are humans (or close, like superhumans would be fine).
Not scary, not grimdark. Happy ending (not bittersweet, actually happy) is a must. If there’s romance, I would prefer for it to be background, not the big focus of the story. Sci fi, fantasy, contemporary fiction would all be fine.
Any suggestions? I really appreciate the help
by moonbeam4731