My name is Alessandro. I am 48 years old, and I am from Rome.
I could tell you that I had a difficult childhood: my mother abandoned me at birth; I lived in multiple foster homes, each worse than the last, where they forced us to drink expired milk or eat moldy bread, otherwise... there were beatings; I could tell you that I was adopted at the age of 8, and even there, beatings were a daily occurrence. By the age of 13, instead of playing football or riding a bike, I went to work "to bring money home" and at 16, I left home... but I am not seeking justification.

After divorcing my first wife, I met Federica; I was convinced that I had freed myself, that I had overcome everything, and left it all behind, that I could start a new life. But it is true, anger is hidden pain, and if you grow up with violence, the ghosts of the past return. The great love I had for Federica and my three wonderful children was not enough, my great desire to have a happy family was not enough, because that pest, that anger inside me, surfaced and tried to destroy everything to the point where Federica wants to leave me.
I am not a monster. If you are looking for the ogre in our story, like those you read about in newspapers or see on television, that is not me. The ogre was never there. But at some point, I realized that certain things were wrong, and something clicked inside me, and I decided to change radically, because only this way could I regain what I truly loved. I decided to leave home and work on myself...

I've seen psychologists, even as a child, but unfortunately, it did not help me. The real "path" I walked with myself, to not lose the love of my children and to rebuild my family. The true driving force that pushed me and helped me fight that "pest" inside of me was the desire to see happiness in Federica's eyes and my children's. The ghosts of the past cannot coexist with the angels of the present.