I Was 29 and Single When I Fought to Keep Five Siblings Together. The Judge Asked Why, and My Answer Changed Everything.
I had never intended to speak about the red toy truck.
It came out anyway.
‘Our parents died in a house fire,’ I told the court.
‘We were given different placements.
My youngest brother carried a red plastic truck missing one wheel.
When they put him in the second car, he tried to hold on to my sleeve.
I ran after that car until I fell.’
The courtroom disappeared for a moment.