2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2 discussion

Kim sees her mother for the first time in 28 years. Did that first interaction change anything for Kim? Was it helpful or did it not matter?

Changed nothing for Kim and at this point I don't know what will.

In some ways KIm is still that six year old little girl inside and hasn't let go of the horror of what happened to her. I'm not saying she has to forgive and forget but she needs to come to terms of what happened in consideration of her mother's mental illness. In light of the tribunal hearing it is clear that her mother is still very mentally ill despite what treatment she has had over the last 28 years. Kim has to somehow acknowledge that and try to put it behind her.

I think it deepened Kim’s anger. Seeing her mother serving “time” in a comfortable setting while she grew up in the tough care system except for those few years with her dear foster parents felt unfair and unjust.

Kim doesn’t see her mother as suffering from a mental illness because she saw Patty’s manipulation to hide her abuse of her children. Plus, Kim’s mixing her own guilt in not being able to save her twin brother with all of it. Even Patty threw it up in her face that Kim thwarted her efforts to kill Mikey.

While it brought a lot of stuff to the surface, she still doesn’t have an outlet to sort it out well. Lily was extremely disappointing here.

Yes, I agree. If anything it continued to reinforce Kim's deep hatred of her mother, I don't think Kim is in any way even ready to start to ask for help or ready to let go of her guilt. It can't be good for anyone to have those intense feelings bottled up for so many years. The only person who may be able to help her is Bryant at this stage. I do hope we see some movement in this area as the series progresses.

The fact that her feelings are starting to bubble up means she’s nearing a breakthrough. If I recall, it began when she was forced into counseling. And, she’s informally dropping in on Ted, her child psychologist.

I’ve hope for her.

The first meeting didn't do anything to change Kim's feelings for her mother. Patty is living in a country club type setting while her son is in a grave and her daughter struggled in the system for most of her young life.

Kim does need help at some point. I think she is working towards doing something. She talked to Bryant a little which is more than she did in the past. Ted is waiting for her to open up so he can help her. Also, I have to think that Daniel is still in the back of her mind. She knows she has to deal with her past to have a future with him or anyone else for that matter.

I agree.

This was part of Alex's downfall. Kim said that Alex didn't really know her, and Kim's actions regarding her mother prove that assumption. Kim was never fooled by the new persona that her mother had adopted.