"How so?" Mom asked, as I did my best to listen and lick at the same time... which was more challenging than one might think... especially when I was mortified by everything I was hearing.

"May I be frank?" Amber asked, as she placed her hand on my head and just rested it there.

"Please."

"You see, Barbara," Amber said, " it became obvious pretty quickly to me that the principal reason the business wasn't successful... was that Cassie wasn't being true to herself."

"True to herself?"

"Yes, she's been living in denial for years," Amber continued. "Decades, really."

"Denial?"

"Yes, your daughter has been living a façade of herself,"...