My Mother-in-Law Left a Blue Notebook in Our Hallway Closet—After My Son Was Born, I Finally Learned What She Had Been Recording Inside It

Professionals should not inflate.

The actual incident was serious enough.

That became a rule for me afterward.

Never exaggerate something terrible just because you want other people to understand how terrible it felt.

Accuracy has its own force.

Eleanor did not poison Thomas.

She did not switch babies.

She did not have legal authority to erase Mark from a birth certificate.