“Yes, in spite of the surreal quality of the interaction, the monologue in the garden was an answer to prayer—to both my long-term prayer that my father would take responsibility for his sin, and to this morning’s prayer for light in the midst of their darkness. But we saw the abuse very differently. In his …
Category Archives: Trading Fathers Excerpts
Don’t Talk, Don’t Trust, Don’t Feel
“You wouldn’t even be here if I wasn’t oversexed. Mother told me this morning that I forced myself on her the night you were conceived. She says I raped her.” He glared at me. I couldn’t believe it. Not that I couldn’t believe he’d raped my mother—that I believed. And I wasn’t even surprised my …
A Ten Foot Tsunami
“Are you still nursing a forty-year hatred?” He wagged a crooked finger at me, his black eyes bright and hard behind his glasses. His unexpected rage felt like a ten-foot tsunami. I planted myself against the onslaught. Leaning on her hoe, my mother watched us, silent. Behind me, Jerry grasped my shoulder. A few feet …