Behind every ledger entry there had been real people, not just a family scandal.

I had also spoken with my own therapist about the strange double grief of losing a mother and then learning she had survived.

She helped me recognize that happiness did not erase the harm.

A reunion could be a gift and still leave anger, fear, and sorrow in its wake.

Lucas and I continued counseling.

Sometimes the sessions were uncomfortable.

He learned to stop presenting explanations as if they were solutions.