CNU-My daughter-in-law said Christmas would be easier if I stayed away, and my son did not even raise his eyes to defend me. So I stayed home, alone, exactly as requested. …

support witnesses for their parents’ appeals.

One summer evening, almost a year after the midnight call, Susan sat on the deck with me while the sky went pink over the water and Scout snored beneath the table.

“Do you ever wish you hadn’t done it?” she asked.

She was thirteen now, long-limbed, thoughtful, and increasingly careful with the weight of her continue reading …