I Returned For Thanksgiving To Find My Parents Gone—And My Father Waiting

of his cracked, bleeding lips. The wide shot of the dark room with the thermostat reading 52° clearly visible in the background. The empty space where water should have been but wasn’t. The prescription bottle labeled “morphine” that contained only water. The frozen puddle beneath his chair.

The photos were gritty, raw, visceral, and absolutely undeniable.continue reading …