My daughter wants to know more about my childhood/background and I'm apprehensive about it

My daughter just turned 14. It's quite a stormy time in our lives right now. My ex (daughter's bio mother) disappeared a decade ago (she had problems with substance abuse - as did I once upon a time) and now she's back. She wants to "rekindle" a relationship with my daughter. My daughter wants nothing to do with her bio mother. However, the woman is still pushing to be a presence in my daughter's life.I live in Germany, but I'm Ghanaian. Came here to do my undergraduate degree when I was 18 and met my daughter's bio mother at university. She's German. I was orphaned at birth and grew up in group homes. Conditions were terrible in these places and by the time I was ten, I spent large amounts of time living on the streets with a group of other orphans. It's a time I don't really like thinking about - I've pretty much pushed the memories to the recesses of my mind. It was a spell of alcohol and drug abuse, physical and sexual abuse and just utter misery. It's a history I've always kept very close to my chest.My daughter knows my childhood wasn't easy, but she isn't aware of the details. Now she wants to know. She's been looking at pictures of Ghana on the internet and she's been reading up on the country. Ever since her bio mother came back she has been showing a lot of interest in where I come from, and what it was like for me growing up. And I absolutely understand where she is coming from. Her bio mother left her when she was a baby - her father doesn't really like talking about his roots and she has never been to my homeland, her stepmother is English. I think she just wants to be able to identify with who she really is. My wife (who has become a lovely mother to our daughter) told me that my girl told her "I'm half Ghanaian but I don't know the first thing about the place. I don't know stories from dad's childhood."I plan on sitting down with my daughter and addressing the subject. It's something I'm apprehensive about admittedly. But I know she deserves to know about an essential piece of her. I'd be grateful for some pointers on how I can talk to her. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2HVcHYB