Not every bad trait in someone can be blamed on mental illness; otherwise, every inmate in prison should be treated, instead of punished/incarcerated.
Her selfishness & abuse was not due to any mental illness. She was just full of rage that she chose to take out on her kids. We only "abandoned" her after she died. I made sure she was cared for - mainly because I promised our dad we would because that was his dying wish. He knew what kind of psycho he married & he was afraid we would abandon her after he passed.
I hired & paid her nurses $1,200.00/week for the last 3 months when she was bedridden. Before that, I chauffeured her & my dad for 2 years & did all their shopping, etc. That was way more than she deserved.
As for "giving me life," she only had kids to keep her man; her & my dad weren't married when she became pregnant & back then, (around 1950), that wasn't acceptable. She knew no man would stay with her unless he had to.
And, (although I'm not a believer), I don't think God forgave her; she was bedridden for the last 3 months of her life & she hated that more than anything. In fact, she told me, "Every night when I go to sleep, I hope I die by morning." We were thinking, "Yeah...we hope so, too."