The Night My Mother Said She Wished I Had Never Been Born

all at once.

Then I heard my own voice, which surprised me with its steadiness.

“Okay,” I said. “Consider your wish granted.”

She started to say my name. Jake, in the tone she had used my entire life to indicate that I had overstepped, that warning note that said pull back, that syllable that functioned as a leash. I had always responded to it. My entire continue reading …