Mothers can say the meanest things. Call it an Irish temper, call it a nasty comment, call it a manipulative mother, call it what you will...verbal abuse is emotional abuse and it's not acceptable. I was suddenly able to see, with painful clarity, how my mom still perceived me: as a little girl who could be controlled through cruel comments. For truth be told, that had been the status quo for much of my life up until then. "Thus far and no farther."