Abandonment

There are many forms of abandonment and My Mother Was Nuts showcases several of them. First and foremost, Penny's own mother bluntly tells her young daughter that she never wanted her, that she had hoped for a miscarriage. A young child hearing that her mother basically wishes that she had never been born has to have lasting confusion and hurt over such a revelation by her mother, the very person who is supposed to love and protect her. Penny's father was not a demonstrative man and was absent from home so often that he did not fulfill his own role as a father on behalf of Penny much less fill the gap left by her mother.

Marjorie Marshall made derisive remarks about her daughter's dancing abilities and appearance. She wished aloud that Penny was graceful like other students. She told Penny that she could open a Coke bottle...