![Looking back on why I didn’t have a bat mitzvah](https://dt6jxi6mdp1w1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/button-shirt-e1547225716428-1-480x320.jpg)
![Soul](https://dt6jxi6mdp1w1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/groknation/libs/images/slug-soul.png)
On the eve of her son's bar mitzvah, one woman reflects on her own 13th year
Jana Banin is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Parents, Parenting, Psychology Today, and more. She lives in Miami with her family and blogs about autism and life at ihateyourkids.tumblr.com.