I’m Noriko Suzuki, 48. I lost both of my parents when I was young and grew up in foster care. I worked at a foreign-owned company and built up assets through real estate investing, then took early retirement at 45. After that, I married my husband, Hironari, 50, and we moved to the suburbs. Not long after, my sister-in-law Yumi, 42, asked me to take care of her husband Atsuki’s mother, Kagawa, 79, who lived nearby. When I refused, both Yumi and my mother-in-law Yurie, 75, blamed me, and Hironari and I began to argue. Then, as if she’d heard about the trouble, my mother-in-law suddenly showed up at our house.
That visit was the breaking point for me. Because I grew up in foster care, had assets, and was a stay-at-home wife, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law treated me like someone they could use. Worse, Hironari didn’t even try to stand up for me. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I told him, “I want a divorce,” and left the house.
The warmth and sense of family I’d hoped for in marriage never became mine. But now, instead of living by other people’s values, I want to live honestly, listening to my own feelings. Realizing that has been my greatest relief.