I don't have any similar experience so I can't comment on that, but what bothers me the most is that characters who are most close to the MC, like his friend, teacher and ex-girlfriend know more about the MC's mom than himself. I get the MC and his mom weren't the closest, but they had a normal mother-son relationship. This entire situation seems like she's just a shitty mother, and just left the MC without thinking about the consequences, unless she works for the Avengers and left to save the world from an alien invasion.