The Sixth Assault

The summer I am 21 years old, I stand in my parents’ kitchen with the lights down. My mother is … Continue reading The Sixth Assault

My Other Grandfather

My father’s father was made of different stuff. I never knew him as Grandpa because he died the year I … Continue reading My Other Grandfather

That autumn I was 20, my grandfather died. A few months earlier, he had been diagnosed with cancer. He avoided … Continue reading Grandpa

One of the first things I learned in my study of trauma was that violence itself isn’t what traumatizes. It’s … Continue reading The Fifth Assault

I was not someone who got sexually assaulted, so I had not been assaulted. Simple as that. We all do … Continue reading Aftermath at 20

I really believed the worst of it was behind me. I would graduate from college in less than two years, … Continue reading The Fourth Assault

But depression does not recede with the ministering of kind words from a friend. Joe’s words had been a balm, … Continue reading Siddhartha