Shania Twain described growing up in an abusive, violent household during a Thursday episode of NPR’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin . The 60-year-old singer said she and her sisters, Jill and Carrie Ann, witnessed repeated fights between their mother, Sharon, and stepfather, Jerry Twain, and were sometimes physically abused themselves. Shania Twain said the violence between Sharon and Jerry Twain could become severe, describing bruises, pulled hair, and fights so intense that the walls of the Ontario, Canada, home seemed to shake. Shania Twain also said both parents could hit or kick the children if they were caught in the wrong place during an outburst. Why the Family Couldn’t Break the Cycle According to Shania Twain, Sharon repeatedly tried to leave Jerry Twain, but the family kept returning after he located them or Sharon changed her mind. Shania Twain characterized the pattern as a cycle, with the household swinging between attempts to escape and renewed violence. Shania Twain, who was born Eilleen Edwards, has previously written about additional abuse allegations involving Jerry Twain in her 2011 memoir, From This Moment On . She alleged that Jerry physically and emotionally abused her for years, sexually abused her beginning when she was 10, and once punched her in the jaw after she tried to stop him from attacking Sharon with a chair. Sharon divorced Shania Twain’s biological father, Clarence Edwards, when Shania was 2 before marrying Jerry Twain, who adopted Shania and her sisters. Sharon and Jerry died in a head on car crash near Wawa, Ontario, on November 1, 1987, when Shania Twain was 22 and beginning to build her music career.