“My teacher hurts me when no one is watching,” my 6-year-old sobbed, showing me her bruised arm. The principal sneered, “She fell on the playground, stop making things up.” I said nothing, only turned my phone screen to him. His smug face instantly drained of color, his hands trembling as he stared at the screen
Chapter 1: The Weight of a Whisper Sleep was a foreign concept that night. I sat anchored to a worn wooden chair at my kitchen table long after the house had surrendered to the heavy…









