Acquaintances were always on their best behavior, but sisters loved each other enough to say anything.”—Lauren Weisberger A hoped-for response from your wife might have been something along the lines of “I’m so sorry that this terrible thing happened. Thank you for telling me. I love you and want to support you in any way I can. Let’s talk about where to go from here.” When people don’t get that kind of empathic response from the person they’re closest to, they either futilely attempt to get the person to validate what happened or they simply retreat into their own denial (for instance, your idea to “let it go but keep my distance,” which isn’t really possible and puts you at risk of something like this happening again). I’m the big sister. I want to make sure she has everything, even if I don’t have anything. It’s hard. I love her too much. That’s what counts.”—Venus Williams

To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confidant, it is to have a soulmate for life.”—Victoria Secunda

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Your sister knows everything to say to piss you off. But sisters tend to be each other’s biggest champion and also their hardest critics.”—Erin Foster For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands.”—Christina Rossetti

Sister. You are not only a strong woman, you are the strongest tie to the best years of my life.”—Melanie J. Pellowski That's the best thing about little sisters: They spend so much time wishing they were elder sisters that in the end they're far wiser than the elder ones could ever be.”—Gemma Burgess Instead, Teri turned to me. “You’re going to get better, kiddo,” she promised softly, our blue eyes inches apart, as she rubbed my arm. “I’m not going to leave you until you’re better.” Denying abusive behavior creates a toxic stew of collusion and shame, all while normalizing the abuse and enabling it to continue. And this, over time, can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance use, and a pervasive feeling of numbness or unsafety for the person in your position. I don’t know what is going on,” I said quietly, running my fingers along the edge of the sheet, my eyes filling. “I don’t know if this is normal anymore.”

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Until she was 40, Melissa* thought she was an only child. For the first decade of her life, she grew up happily in a suburban, upper-middle class area of the Great Lakes. Then, her father committed suicide, and soon after, she says, her mother's mental health began to decline.

Husbands come and go; children come and eventually they go. Friends grow up and move away. But the one thing that’s never lost is your sister.”—Gail Sheehy

There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me.”—Mary Wortley Montagu Because all of these things occurred with other family members around, I did not feel like I could snap at her or push her away. I wish I had found a way to quietly tell her that she was making me uncomfortable and ask her to please stop, but I was still new to the family and not sure of myself with them. Also, she seems to have my wife emotionally bound to her to the point that my wife gets angry at the slightest criticism of her sister. My wife seems to alternate between being intimidated by her sister and feeling as if she has to protect her. What are sisters for if not to point out the things the rest of the world is too polite to mention.” ―Claire Cook