MY STEPFATHER BEAT ME EVERY DAY AS A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT. ONE NIGHT AT 8:43 P.M., HE BROKE MY ARM, AND WHEN WE TOOK ME TO THE HOSPITAL TWENTY-SIX MINUTES LATER, MY MOTHER SAID, “IT WAS BECAUSE SHE ACCIDENTALLY FELL DOWN THE STAIRS.” AS SOON AS THE DOCTOR SAW THE BRUISES ON MY FACE—SOME FRESH, SOME ALREADY THREE AND FOUR DAYS OLD—HE IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911.
